HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.a EDB Weekly Billing Conversion Plan Board Update EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AGENDA ITEM:
Weekly Billing Conversion Plan
Date: June 12, 2025
BACKGROUND:
Currently our billing process is conducted once per month for all customers at the beginning of the month. During
this process approximately 60,000 accounts are billed. This count has almost doubled since the implementation of
one-time monthly billing in 2010, at which time our billed account totals were less than 35,000. As our service area
continues to develop and our customer counts grow,it is evident that a single monthly billing cycle is unsustainable
due to limitations of software and network services.
To address this, staff are preparing to transition from a single monthly billing cycle to weekly billing cycles
distributed over four weeks. By distributing the billing cycle, staff will be able to alleviate the inconsistent
workflows, better manage workflow distribution and department budgets, improve cash flow management, and
most importantly enhance our ability to service our customers both in the office and in the field.
The customer base was divided into 4 cycles during the implementation of SPRY CIS and SRPY Mobile.To lessen
the impact of a considerable shift in the billing period, we will transition the cycles over a period of 3 months
beginning in January 2026. This will allow us to ensure each billing period does not exceed 35 days during the
transition. This is consistent with billing periods experienced during holidays and storm events.
Staff will implement a communication plan beginning October 2025. Communication with our customers will
include emails and bill inserts with information tailored to each billing cycle explaining how their billing date will
change and what to expect during the transition. The introductory notifications will be included with October,
November and December 2025 billings. Notifications will also be sent to the affected cycles with each monthly
billing during the transition in January, February, and March 2026.
We expect call volumes to increase as we begin to launch our communication to customers and as we enter the bill
cycle changes. To ensure we can respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner, we will add additional staff to
our call center. To avoid longer call hold times, we have activated the option for customers to leave a voicemail
with the expectation their call will be returned within 24 business hours.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends our billing process be updated and divided into 4 cycles to be distributed over 4 weeks throughout
the month. This will alleviate the inconsistent workflows, better manage workflow distribution and department
budgets, improve cash flow management, and most importantly enhance our ability to service our customers both
in the office and in the field.
REQUEST:
Staff respectfully request the Board's approval of staffs recommendation to convert the billing process to 4 cycles
distributed throughout the month.