Cape to implement tougher payment policies, new utility-billing system

The city of Cape Girardeau plans to implement tougher policies toward those who fail to pay their water, sewer and trash bills.

Those measures, scheduled to be implemented July 1, include raising the disconnect and reconnect fees, hiking the utility deposit fee and limiting the number of pay-plan agreements allowed a customer during a single year, city officials said.

The goal is to reduce the number of uncollectable city utility bills and help delinquent customers stay current on their bills, officials said.

In addition, the city plans to change its utility-billing system, effective May 1. The new system will be "much more efficient," said Gayle Conrad, city clerk and director of citizen services.

The city, which has about 17,000 utility customers, sends out 800 to 1,000 notices a month to customers who are delinquent in paying their bills, she said.

Each month, the city disconnects utility services for about 200 customers, Conrad said.

"At least 95 percent of them get reconnected," she said.

Currently, the city levies a deposit fee on all new or transferred utility services or any account that is disconnected for nonpayment.

Under the new policy, the deposit fee would be increased to $155 from its current $75.

"The only thing I am proposing is to do what our ordinance says," Conrad said. A city ordinance, which dates back to 1996, states the deposit will be twice the amount of the average residential utility bill, she said.

The average monthly bill is slightly more than $77, she said.

The city charges $15 each to disconnect and reconnect a utility customer. Under the new policy, those fees would be increased to $15.75 each.

City council approval will be needed to make that change, Conrad said.

She added the council cannot increase the fees more than that amount in a single year because of a provision in the city charter that limits increases to a maximum of 5 percent.

Restricting pay agreements

Under the new policy, no more than two pay agreements per account or per person will be approved within a 12-month period, Conrad said.

If a customer defaults on a payment plan, the city will not authorize a new pay agreement for a year, according to the new policy.

Conrad told the city council last week "there are some people who have become accustomed to living with a payment agreement." Many of those customers have repeated disconnects and reconnects, she said.

Ward 1 Councilman Joseph Uzoaru suggested the "leniency and compassion" of city staff have added to the disconnect and reconnect workload.

But Conrad said "some people do pay it off."

Under city procedures, a customer typically will have to be delinquent for three months before the utilities are turned off, she said.

Uzoaru said he is focused on the cost to the city.

"As a government, we are providing charity to these people," he said.

But Mayor Harry Rediger said he wants to see what impact the policy changes have in addressing the problem of delinquent customers.

"Let it work and see how it evolves," Rediger said.

New billing system

As for utility billing, the city is implementing a new software system.

Beginning May 1, the city will scrap its postcard bills in favor of full-sized paper bills that will be mailed in white envelopes, Conrad said.

The current software billing system is time consuming for staff, Conrad said.

"A lot of processes are manual," she said. The company that provided the software is no longer providing support for the system, she added.

The new software does not allow for postcard bills, according to Conrad.

"We had to go to a bill that was stuffed (in an envelope)," she said.

The city has hired an outside firm to handle the printing, stuffing and mailing of utility bills.

Conrad said the arrangement will be more cost effective.

The city currently does the printing and mailing of utility bills and delinquent and disconnect notices at an annual cost of $74,000. With the new software system, the cost would total nearly $119,000 for the city to print and distribute the utility bills. The cost includes staff time, paper, envelopes, increased printing costs and postage, additional equipment and software maintenance, according to Conrad.

Peregrine Services, the outside firm hired by the city, will do the job for less than $106,000 a year, she said.

Going to an envelope system also will allow the city to include informational letters and other paperwork that now are mailed separately, saving the city about $5,000 per citywide mailing, Conrad said.

During the transition

Tuesday will be the last day the city will read utility meters until May 1 because of the billing changes, city officials said.

This will result in some utility bills this spring being lower than normal because of fewer days included in the billing. Customers then would see higher bills in late May or in June because those bills would cover more days, officials said.

From April 25 to May 2, the online utility payment portal will not be active. All normal, non-delinquent bills can be paid at Schnucks Supermarket, mailed or placed in the city-hall drop box, officials said.

From April 26 to 28, all utility transactions will be processed by hand, including requests for service and payments. Conrad said the public should expect increased wait times at the customer service office at city hall.

On May 1, the customer service office will be closed and will not accept walk-in traffic, phone calls or online payments because of the transition to the new billing system, city officials said. The office will reopen May 2.

Conrad said it will take a little time for city staff to adjust to the new system.

"We are just asking the public to be patient," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.