* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [ CITY OF BAYTOWN NOTICE OF MEETING CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026 5:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBER, CITY HALL 2401 MARKET STREET, BAYTOWN, TEXAS 77520 AGENDA CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF QUORUM ] [00:00:02] I NOW CALL TO ORDER THE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 8TH, 2 20 26, 5:30 PM AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBER. AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF QUORUM AT 5:33 PM START OFF WITH CITIZEN COMMENTS. DID ANYONE SIGN UP TO SPEAK? MOVING ON TO, [a. Receive a presentation from the Utility Billing (CIT) Continuous Improvement Team.] TO A, RECEIVE A PRESENTATION FROM THE UTILITY BILLING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM, MS. TIS AND MS. MCKENZIE. GOOD, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. I AM SUPER HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU GUYS TONIGHT FOR THE LONG AWAITED AND MUCH ANTICIPATED, UH, REVIEW OF A KIND OF A SUMMARY REVIEW OF THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM'S WORK ON UTILITY BILLING SERVICES. UH, TONIGHT I REALLY WANNA DO THREE THINGS IN THIS PRESENTATION, AND THE FIRST ONE IS TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOMETHING REALLY AWESOME THAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY. UH, THE SECOND THING IS REALLY TO SHINE A LIGHT ON UTILITY, UH, BILLING OUR DEPARTMENT. AND THE THIRD, AND KIND OF MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE GOING TO ASK AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION FOR DIRECTION AND FEEDBACK ON THREE VERY SPECIFIC POLICY ITEMS. SO I'M GONNA START WITH THE FUN PART. UH, THE AWESOME PART IS I DO WANNA TELL YOU ABOUT THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAMS OR CIT TEAMS. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT TOO HARD 'CAUSE THE T IS USED TWICE. UH, THEY HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED, UH, IN THE CITY FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW. UH, AND THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM IS BASICALLY A TEAM OF TYPICALLY FOUR PEOPLE THAT COME FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. AND THE EMPLOYEES THAT SERVE ON THESE TEAMS ARE CHARGED WITH DOING A DEEP DIVE, UH, INTO EITHER A, A DIVISION, A PROCESS, OR A SERVICE THAT WE OFFER. UH, THE TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO'VE GONE THROUGH OUR BLACK BELT PROGRAM. SO THEY HAVE TRAINING IN PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TOOLS, UH, AND THEY'RE ALSO PARTICIPANTS IN OUR CITY'S LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT COHORT. UM, I LOVE THESE TEAMS. THIS IS REALLY A PASSION OF MINE BECAUSE IT DOES A LOT OF GREAT THINGS. THE FIRST ONE IS, IT LETS PEOPLE FROM ALL ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION HAVE EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE OF THEIR TYPICAL LANES OF WORK, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE THEY GET TO SEE REALLY HOW THE CITY OPERATES ON A WHOLE. AND OUR FEEDBACK FROM EMPLOYEES IS THEY LOVE THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING. MM-HMM . THEY LOVE TO GET OUT OF THEIR LANE AND SEE HOW THE CITY WORKS AND SHADOW AND OBSERVE AND ANALYZE DATA FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS. THEY REALLY LEARN A LOT. UM, AND IT HELPS OUR, IT KIND OF FORMS AN ARMY OF INNOVATORS AND COLLABORATORS, UH, THAT CAN SHARPEN THEIR, THE SKILLS THAT WE'RE TEACHING AND PROMOTING IN BLACK BELT. UH, AND THEN THE, THE THIRD REASON I LOVE IT SO, SO MUCH IS BECAUSE IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A FRESH SET OF EYES ON PROBLEMS. WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS, YOU, YOU KNOW, TEND TO SEE WITH BLINDERS ON, WE GET NEW PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THINGS. UH, WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE HOST TEAMS THAT INVITE US IN AND ARE VERY OPEN, UM, IN SHARING THEIR PROCESSES, THEIR DATA, ALL THAT STUFF. UH, SO THIS TIME WE WORKED WITH THE UTILITY BILLING TEAM. UH, THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM WAS MADE UP OF FOUR INDIVIDUALS, UH, TWO FROM THE LIBRARY, LESLIE LES AND LENE MANGO. ONE FROM PWE, WHICH WAS JOSEPH HOLMES. AND THE FOURTH WAS MARK WORTHHAM FROM ITS. AND MY, MY JOKE WITHOUT A PUNCHLINE IS, UH, ANYTIME YOU GET TWO LIBRARIANS, A MECHANIC AND A COMPUTER GEEK TOGETHER, YOU KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GET A GOOD PROJECT. UH, SO THIS AWESOME TEAM, WE, WE SAT DOWN TOGETHER AND WE HAD KIND OF FOUR GOALS FOR THE PROJECT. THE FIRST WAS TO COLLECT BASIC FACTS ABOUT UB, RIGHT? THIS IS WHERE WE COUNT WIDGETS. UH, ANYTIME WE WANNA TALK ABOUT FIXING OR IMPROVING, WE HAVE TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE. SO WE HAVE TO COUNT THINGS AND QUANTIFY. UH, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT WORKLOAD MEASURES. UH, AND THEN WE WANTED TO DO DEEP DIVE THREE PROCESSES THAT ARE UNIQUE TO UTILITY BILLING. AND THEN FINALLY WE WANTED TO LOOK FROM THE CUSTOMER'S POINT OF VIEW. SO WE DID SOME CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE SURVEYS. UM, THE ORIGINAL PRESENTATION WAS LIKE 80 SLIDES, YOU KNOW, THAT WE PRESENTED TO THEM. I KNOW, UH, BUT IT HAS BEEN CONDENSED KIND OF WITH A PURPOSE OF, AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION, WE DO NEED YOUR FEEDBACK ON THREE SPECIFIC THINGS. SO I WANT TO REALLY HIGHLIGHT THOSE THINGS, UM, AS WE GO. SO YOU CAN STOP ME AT ANY TIME, BUT I COULD GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PART OF THE PRESENTATION, ALL THREE OF THESE GOALS, AND THEN WE'LL GET TO THE PART WHERE WE NEED YOU. SO, BASIC FACTS, UH, YOU DID OR DIDN'T KNOW, UTILITY. WE HAVE OVER 20,000 RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS AND ABOUT 2,500 COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS. I LIKE TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE THAT UB IS THE HEART OF THE CITY BECAUSE AS SAD AS IT SOUNDS, NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA VISIT THE LIBRARY THIS YEAR. NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA GO TO A PARK AND AN EVENT. NOT EVERYBODY'S GONNA PULL A PERMIT. PEOPLE MIGHT NOT EVEN DRIVE DOWN GAR ROAD, BUT LITERALLY EVERY CITIZEN AND BUSINESS IN THE CITY TOUCHES UB, RIGHT? UB HAS A CONNECTION WITH THEM BECAUSE EVERYBODY GETS WATER. UH, FROM US, WE LOOKED AT METERS, JUST SOME FUN FACTS ON METERS, THERE ARE METERS THAT ARE OUTDATED, METERS THAT CAN'T BE READ, UH, METERS THAT HAVE TO BE READ MANUALLY INSTEAD OF THAT SMARTISH WAY WHERE WE'RE DRIVING BY IN THE TRUCK. UH, AND THAT'S VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. AND THEN A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF METERS ARE UNREACHABLE 'CAUSE THEY'RE BEHIND FENCES OR BUSHES OR ALL THAT STUFF. THE THING I LIKE TO COUNT THE MOST IS MONEY. UH, [00:05:01] WE BILL OVER $60 MILLION FOR WATER ANNUALLY. THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT. IT'S A BIG REVENUE PIECE. UM, THAT PIE CHART YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT THERE TELLS US THAT 82% OF OUR CUSTOMERS PAY THEIR WATER BILLS ON TIME, WHICH IS GOOD UNTIL YOU TALK ABOUT THAT 17 TO 18% WHO PAY LATE OR NOT AT ALL. RIGHT? AND THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT $10 MILLION. SO WE TOOK THAT LITTLE RED SLICE OF THE PIE AND KIND OF DISSECTED IT FURTHER TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT 18, 18% OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T PAY THEIR BILL WHEN IT'S DUE IN THAT FIRST WEEK HALF, OR LIKE A THIRD OF THOSE PEOPLE END UP PAYING. SO THEY'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT LATE. ONCE THEY HIT THAT SEVEN DAYS, WHICH IS TWO THIRD ISH, ISH OF THAT GROUP, THEY GET A 10% FEE. ONCE YOU HIT SEVEN DAYS, YOU HAVE A 10% LATE FEE, RIGHT? WHEN THAT HAPPENS, NOW I'M LOOKING AT THAT 12%, IT SORT OF SPLITS IN HALF. HALF OF THEM ARE LIKE, AH, GOTTA PAY THE BILL. AND THEY DO. THE OTHER HALF OF THAT GROUP DOESN'T AND WE HIT 19 DAYS PAST DUE DATE AND THEN THEY ARE ELIGIBLE OR THEY GET ON THE LIST, THE DELINQUENT DISCONNECT LIST, THEY'RE NOW IN LINE TO GET DISCONNECTED, UH, WHICH IS ABOUT 21 DAYS PAST THE DUE DATE OF THE BILL. WHAT HAPPENS THEN? ABOUT HALF OF THEM THAT GET DISCONNECTED DO PAY AND THEY GET RECONNECTED PRETTY SOON AFTER. AND WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT PROCESS AS WE GO. AND THEN THE OTHER LITTLE SLICE OVER THERE, THEY DON'T PAY, THEY DON'T GET RECONNECTED. THEY MAY HAVE MOVED AWAY, THEY MAY HAVE THAT AND JUST LEFT THEIR FINAL BILL ON THE TABLE. BUT THAT, THAT KIND OF SLICE TO THE RIGHT IS HOW WE CHARTED OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE 18%. SO THAT'S GOOD DATA FOR US. HOW ARE PEOPLE PAYING? WE DID LOOK AT THAT, UH, MAJORITY BY CREDIT CARDS, ABOUT 40%. BANK TRANSFER ALSO VERY POPULAR AFTER THAT. CASH AND CHECK STILL A THING. UH, ECHECK A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE. UH, WE DID WANNA SEE. IT IS SUPER INTERESTING HOW POLICY AFFECTS BEHAVIOR. LAST YEAR WHEN WE PUT THE CONVENIENCE FEE ON, WE DID LOOK THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 24 AND 25. CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS DROPPED ABOUT 20%. SO IT DID AFFECT HOW PEOPLE PAY INTERESTING WORKLOAD MEASURES. UH, ONE THING I CAN TELL YOU FOR SURE, UB IS BUSY. UH, WE GOT A LOT OF DATA ABOUT THEIR FOOT TRAFFIC, WHAT THE EMPLOYEES ARE DOING ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, OVER NINE HOURS, HELPING PEOPLE PAY BILLS. UH, THEY ANSWER PHONES A LOT. SOMETIMES THEIR PHONES ARE RINGING SO MUCH THEY CAN'T PICK THEM UP. UM, HELPING CUSTOMERS WITH OTHER QUESTIONS, SETTING UP NEW ACCOUNTS. THOSE ARE THINGS THEY DO AT THE FRONT DESK. I DID WANNA TOUCH ON, 'CAUSE I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT IT ON THE NEXT SLIDE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DO WHEN THEY'RE HELPING PEOPLE WITH THEIR ACCOUNTS IS SET UP PAYMENT PLANS AND THEN MANAGE THE PAYMENT PLANS FOR PEOPLE WHO COME IN. WHO REQUEST THAT. WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? IT IS IMPORTANT, UH, BECAUSE IT'S OVER 200 OR BETWEEN 180 AND 220 CUSTOMERS A MONTH REQUESTING PAYMENT PLANS. WE, THIS CHART IS A COMPARISON CHART BECAUSE WE LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES TO SEE WHAT THEY OFFER. PAYMENT PLANS ARE COMMON. WE LOOKED AT LAPORTE, PASADENA, DEER PARK, LAKE CITY, ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORS. AND OFFERING A PAYMENT PLAN IS A PRETTY TYPICAL THING FOR A WATER SERVICES DEPARTMENT. WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT BAYTOWN IS THAT WE HAVE AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF PLANS. WE DON'T CAP IT. WHERE OTHER CITIES, YOU CAN HAVE ONE A YEAR. YOU CAN HAVE ONE EVERY SIX MONTHS AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA ASK FOR FEEDBACK IN THE END. WE OFFER UNLIMITED PAYMENT PLANS. WHEN YOU DO A PAYMENT PLAN, YOU HAVE TO CONTACT UB, YOU HAVE TO PAY HALF YOUR BILL THAT'S DUE AT THAT TIME. AND THE OTHER HALF IS WHAT GOES ONTO THE PAYMENT PLAN PORTION. YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE. YOUR PAYMENT PLAN'S ONLY ON ONE BILL. SO YOU KNOW, I GET A PAYMENT PLAN FOR DECEMBER. I'M STILL RESPONSIBLE IN FULL FOR ALL THE BILLS THAT COME AFTER THAT. IT IS A WORKLOAD ISSUE. I DID THE, THE QUICK MATH AT 220 PLANS A MONTH, 10 MINUTES PER CUSTOMER WHO COMES AT THE WINDOW AND HAS TO DO THEIR PLAN IS ABOUT 36 HOURS A MONTH, WHICH IS ALMOST A FOURTH OF AN EMPLOYEE. SO THAT'S JUST, IT'S A WORKLOAD ISSUE. UH, THE OTHER, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT AT THE END. THE OTHER THING IS IT IS A COMMON ISSUE. IT'S NOT, AND I WANNA BE REAL CLEAR, PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE ANOMALOUS HIGH BILLS BECAUSE OF LEAKS, THAT'S A SEPARATE POLICY. THERE IS A LEAK ADJUSTMENT POLICY THAT'S ACTIVE OR IF YOU HAVE A SUPER ANOMALOUS BILL, AND WE CAN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT WHY THERE'S A POLICY FOR THAT. THE PAYMENT PLAN IS UTILIZED SOMETIMES WHEN IT'S A HIGH BILL. BUT WHEN A CUSTOMER IS, I CAN'T PAY THIS BILL IN FULL AT THIS TIME. AND WHAT I FOUND OUT WHEN I LOOKED AT THE DATA AND RAN THE REPORTS OF THE ACCOUNTS THAT WE'RE UTILIZING THIS AMENITY, AS YOU MIGHT CALL IT, WE DID FIND IT'S VERY COMMON THAT A PERSON USES IT SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR. SO [00:10:01] THEY MAY HAVE ONE IN JANUARY, ANOTHER ONE IN MARCH, ANOTHER ONE IN APRIL. AND WHAT THAT TELLS ME IS WE'VE HABITUATED THE GETTING ON THE PLAN, RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST YOU'RE NOT SAVING MONEY, YOU'RE KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AND YOUR OTHER BILLS IN THE MEANTIME ARE STILL COMING IN. THEY'RE STILL DUE. UH, OH MY GOSH. THE, WE ALSO LOOK NOT JUST AT THE FRONT DESK, BUT THE METER TECHS WHO GO OUT, WE DID DATA ON THEM. THEY DRIVE AS A TEAM 7,000 MILES A MONTH. THEY BURN A LOT OF GAS. UH, THEY DO A LOT OF WORK ORDERS. WORK ORDERS OR ANYTHING FROM NEWS SERVICE, DISCONNECTS, RECONNECTS, WHICH WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT OR LEAKS AT THE METER, RIGHT? OR ANOMALOUS USE, NO USE, ALL SORTS OF THINGS. THEY'RE RUNNING ALL OVER TOWN AND THEY'RE DOING TONS OF MANUAL READS, UH, FOR THAT LAST BULLET, FOR THE METERS THAT CAN'T PROVIDE THE DATA. UH, THIS WAS FUN. WE DID RIDE-ALONGS, , UM, I DIDN'T, UH, BUT THE TEAM DID. UH, AND THAT, THAT MAP IS JUST KIND OF A REPRESENTATION. WE PUT A GPS TRACKER ON THEIR CAR. AND THAT'S ONE DAY, UH, ROUTE THAT THEY DO, THEY DO THIS IN TWO CYCLES BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO BILLING CYCLES. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF ROUTES OR KIND OF WORKFLOW IS DOING THE DRIVE-BY READS, DOING THE MANUAL READS, CHECKING ON ANOMALOUS USAGE AND THEN DOING THE WORK ORDERS, UH, REPAIRS IF THEY HAVE TIME. UH, AND THEN THE DISCONNECT RECONNECTS. WHAT WE FOUND OUT WHEN WE DID THAT MATH, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH DAYS IN THE MONTH TO DO ALL THOSE THINGS. AND SO WHAT THEY END UP DOING, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT NEED LONGER REPAIRS OR MORE INVESTIGATION, THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO. 'CAUSE THEY'RE RUNNING AROUND DOING ALL THE OTHER CHECKS. SO THEY'RE VERY HARDWORKING AND VERY BUSY. CREW. WE LOOKED AT PROCESSES. THERE'S, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE A PROCESS IMPROVEMENT GEEK, THERE'S A PROCESS MAP. I WON'T GO THROUGH THE STICKIES. WHAT WE DO WHEN WE, WHEN WE DO THESE MAPS, IS WE LOOK FOR THINGS THAT ARE BUSINESS NECESSARY. THOSE ARE THE YELLOW DOTS VALUE ADDED TO THE CUSTOMER. IT COULD BE GREEN DOTS. AND THEN RED IS THINGS THAT AREN'T BUSINESS NECESSARY OR AS WE SOMETIMES CALL THEM WASTE. BUT DO WE, WHERE WE QUESTION DO WE REALLY NEED TO DO THIS? SO I DO WANNA TALK ABOUT TWO OF THE RED DOTS ON THIS NEW ACCOUNT MAP. UM, AND IT SEEMS TRIVIAL, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE A POLICY QUESTION TOO. THE TWO RED DOTS REPRESENT TRANSPORTATION WASTE IN REGARDS TO PUTTING A DEPOSIT ON THE ACCOUNT. IT'S A HUNDRED DOLLARS. YES. AND YOU, I WAS GONNA HAVE TO ASK THEM. WHEN YOU SET UP AN ACCOUNT, AND THIS IS TYPICAL IN ANY CITY, YOU HAVE TO PAY A DEPOSIT. THE WAY BAYTOWN DOES IT IS YOU PAY THE DEPOSIT BEFORE YOUR ACCOUNT IS ACTIVATED. THAT'S NOT TRUE OF OTHER CITIES. A LOT OF CITIES WILL PUT IT ON YOUR FIRST BILL. WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS, AND IT SEEMS TEENY TINY, IF I GO IN AND SET UP MY ACCOUNT IN PERSON, I DO ALL THAT WITH MY NEW ACCOUNT PERSON. AND THEN WHEN I'M READY TO PAY MY DEPOSIT, THEY SEND ME TO ANOTHER WINDOW TO PAY. AND I KNOW THAT'S VERY MINOR AND THERE'S ACTUALLY A GOOD REASON FOR IT. IT'S TO DO A SEPARATION OF DUTIES AND CASH HANDLING. BUT THAT SEEMS WEIRD IF YOU'RE THE CUSTOMER, RIGHT? CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE CARE OF ME? BUT NOPE, YOU GOTTA STEP OVER HERE. NOT A HUGE DEAL. IT'S ACTUALLY A BIGGER DEAL ONLINE WHEN YOU'RE SETTING UP A NEW ACCOUNT BECAUSE, WHICH IS GREAT 'CAUSE YOU CAN DO IT ALL FROM YOUR COUCH TYPE ALL YOUR INFORMATION IN. BUT YOU HAVE TO PAY YOUR DEPOSIT AND THEN YOU HAVE TO COME BACK AND PROVE THAT YOU'VE PAID YOUR DEPOSIT. AND YOU CAN DO THAT THROUGH EMAIL. BUT MAN, THAT'S A LOT, THAT'S A LOT OF WORK. IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION 'CAUSE I JUST MOVED TO LEAGUE CITY AND I DID IT ALL ONLINE AND THEY PUT MY DEPOSIT ON MY FIRST BILL. SO WE'LL TALK. SO THERE WASN'T AN EXTRA STEP. THIS IS REALLY AN INCONVENIENCE TO THE CUSTOMER TO HAVE THE BURDEN OF, TO PROVE TO YOU I'VE PAID MY DEPOSIT THROUGH EMAIL. IT'S JUST A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH, WHICH IS DIGITAL TRANSPORTATION WASTE. SO IT SEEMS SMALL, BUT IT IS KIND OF A PAIN FOR THE CUSTOMER. UH, THIS PROCESS MAP, WHOA. I USED TO THINK THAT WE JUST PUSHED A BUTTON AND ALL THE WATER BILLS GOT SENT OUT TO PEOPLE. UH, BUT WE LEARNED THAT THE BILLING SPECIALIST IS GENERATING THESE REPORTS AND LOOKING FOR THINGS LIKE ZERO CONSUMPTION, ANOMALOUS USE. IT'S, IT'S WAY TOO HIGH. IT'S WAY TOO LOW, UH, CONSUMPTION WHERE THERE'S NO METER, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS SOMEBODY'S STEALING WATER. UH, AND THEY RUN THESE REPORTS AND THEN IN THIS SEVEN DAY PERIOD, THEY'RE CHECKING. THAT'S WHERE THE METER TECHS ARE GOING BACK OUT AND DOING THE MANUAL READS. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? MR. CURRY EVEN CALLS SOME PEOPLE AND BE LIKE, HEY, WE NOTICED THIS. IT'S A LOT MORE, THIS IS ALMOST A WEEK'S WORTH OF WORK FROM THE TIME THEY GENERATE THESE REPORTS TILL THE BILLS GO OUT AND NO WIGGLE ROOM. AND THIS WAS ONE PERSON DOING ALL OF THIS. AND I THOUGHT, WELL, I HOPE SHE DOESN'T GET THE FLU BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS A LOT AND IT'S IN, THERE'S NO WIGGLE ROOM TIME-WISE TO GET ALL OF THIS DONE. WE LOOKED AT THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. WE DID A LOT OF THIS SIDE, THESE SLIDES ARE VERY CONDENSED, BUT WE, WE WERE REAL INTERESTED IN, IN CONVENIENCE OF PAYING. UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS OVER 60% OF PEOPLE SAID, HEY, IT'S SUPER EASY TO PAY. NO PROBLEM. UH, BUT 10% SAID IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT. SO LOOKING AT THAT 10%, WE DUG A LITTLE DEEPER. AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES WAS LOCATING KIND OF OUR PAYMENT FUNCTION ON OUR WEBSITE, WHICH [00:15:01] I SEE SOME NODS. WE'VE HEARD THIS UH, BEFORE. AND THE NUMBER'S ACTUALLY SUPER HIGH. 37 AND 18% DIFFICULT. EITHER VERY DIFFICULT OR SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT. THAT'S A LOT. SO, UH, I PUT SOMEONE WITH MORE PATIENCE THAN MYSELF. I'M DOING A DEEP DIVE ON THAT. UM, WHAT WERE PEOPLE SAYING? IT'S BURIED. THE LANGUAGE ISN'T CLEAR. IT TAKES TOO LONG TO LOAD. IT'S CLUNKY. IT'S TOO MANY CLICKS, IS IT? WELL, SHE DID THE ANALYSIS. WE FOUND, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU JUMPED IN, IT COULD BE AS MUCH AS EIGHT CLICKS, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN OTHER CITIES. WE FOUND THREE OR FOUR, UH, WAS THEIRS. SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF OUR WRAP UP ON THAT. THEN WE GET TO THE GOOD PARTS. UH, OUR TEAM DOES NOT LIKE TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE NO ONE LIKES TO HEAR, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO? SO WE'VE CHANGED OUR FRAMING AND HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT. SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I JUST WANNA PREP YOU. THERE ARE SEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE TEAM MADE TO UTILITY BILLING. THE FIRST FOUR, WHEN I CLICK IT, IT'S, THEY'RE NOT HIGHLIGHTED. AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE EITHER DIDN'T NEED YOUR DIRECTION OR WE WERE ALREADY GOING THERE. THE LAST THREE ARE HIGHLIGHTED AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AS A GROUP BECAUSE WE NEED DIRECTION. SO THE FIRST THREE IMPLEMENT FULL METER SMART READ PROGRAMS AND HAVE A CUSTOMER PORTAL. YOU GUYS ALREADY VOTED ON THAT. WE ARE GETTING NEW METERS. WHAT WILL THAT DO? BOY, IT SHOULD REDUCE WORKLOADS QUITE A BIT FOR THE CREWS. RIGHT NOW OUR METERS ARE SMARTISH. THESE SHOULD BE SMART METERS. WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO THE THE DRIVES THEY'LL READ FROM SECRET TOWERS. YEAH, SOMEHOW MAGICALLY WITH SOFTWARE THAT'S ON TOWERS, THE READS SHOULD COME IN AND THAT HELPS THE CUSTOMERS MONITOR THEIR OWN, UM, USAGE BECAUSE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THAT PORTAL. SO THAT IS ALREADY IN THE WORKS. YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED THAT EXPENDITURE. UM, DEVELOP ACTION PLAN WITH PUBLIC WORKS TO REDUCE UNBUILD WATER. I SAID WE BILL 60 MILLION. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER WE BUY OUR WATER FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT AS BEST TO OUR ABILITY, IT'S PASSING THROUGH THE METERS AND BEING BILLED CORRECTLY. SO WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT HAVING AN AUDIT DONE ON THE BILLING TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S SET UP CORRECTLY THERE. AND PUBLIC WORKS IS ALREADY LOOKING FOR PLACES WHERE WE MIGHT BE LEAKING WATER AND IT'S EVAPORATOR AND GOING PLACES WE CAN'T EXPLAIN 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL OF OUR WATER. STRENGTHEN STAFF CAPACITY FOR BILLING. I SAID ONE PERSON WAS DOING THAT JOB AND I DIDN'T WANT HER TO GET SICK. UH, THE UTILITY BILLING DEPARTMENT HAS ALREADY INTERNALLY STRENGTHENED THAT SO THAT NOW TWO PEOPLE ARE KIND OF SHARING THAT BURDEN. 'CAUSE IT'S A LOT, UM, REDUCED THE NUMBER OF CLICKS ON THE WEBSITE. IT IS NOT HERE. , THEY WE'RE EXPLORING THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF OTHER CITIES CAN DO IT, WE CAN PROBABLY FIND A WAY TO DO IT ALSO. 'CAUSE THAT IS, THAT IS A PRETTY CLEAR MESSAGE WE'VE GOT THAT PEOPLE DO FIND IT HARD TO PAY. NOW I'M GONNA SLOW DOWN. THE LAST THREE ITEMS ARE KIND OF BIGGER POLICY ITEMS AND WE DO NEED YOUR DIRECTION. THE FIRST ONE'S RELATIVELY SIMPLE, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD REQUIRE AN ORDINANCE CHANGE. UH, BECAUSE CURRENTLY OUR ORDINANCE SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY YOUR DEPOSIT BEFORE WE DO YOUR WATER SERVICE. OUR RECOMMENDATION IS IT GOES ON THE FIRST BILL, SAVE SOME STEPS. THERE'S SOME CONVENIENCE, BUT THERE IS A DARK SIDE. AND THAT WOULD BE IF SOMEONE DIDN'T PAY THEIR FIRST BILL AT ALL. RIGHT? THEY WOULDN'T GET IT. SO I SAID TO THEM, DOES THAT HAPPEN? THEY SAY, OF COURSE IT DOES, RIGHT? DOES IT HAPPEN A LOT? PROBABLY NOT. BUT, BUT IT THAT THAT'S KIND OF THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR YOU GUYS. HMM. THE LAST TWO LIMIT THE CAP, UH, FOR THE PAYMENT PLANS, UH, TO ONE A YEAR, ONE EVERY SIX MONTHS MORE IN LINE WITH OUR, UH, NEIGHBORING CITIES SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T HABITUATE AND JUST USE THAT AS A THING. WE SPENT TIME THERE, UM, OBSERVING AT THE FRONT DESK. AND IT'S VERY COMMON FOR PEOPLE JUST TO COME UP AND BE LIKE, I NEED A PAY, I NEED A PAYMENT PLAN. IT'S, IT'S A THING, RIGHT? AND IT'S 200 PEOPLE A MONTH AND OFTENTIMES THE SAME PEOPLE. AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT FOR THOSE ANOMALOUS USES, IT'S NOT FOR THAT BILL THAT, OH MY GOSH, IT COULD BE FOR THAT. BUT WE HAVE OTHER REMEDIES LIKE LEAK ADJUSTMENT AND THE COMPLETELY UNEXPLAINED WATER BILL. SO THERE ARE THINGS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR THOSE CASES. UM, IT'S JUST A PREFERENCE HOW WE CONTINUE. AND THEN THE OTHER ONE, THE LAST ONE IS TO PERFORM THE RECONNECTS THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY. CURRENTLY THOSE METER TECHS WHO DO THE DISCONNECTS VERY, VERY OFTEN IN THE FIELD. OUR INTERNAL POLICY IS IF YOU PAY THAT AFTERNOON, TWO OR THREE O'CLOCK, IF YOU PAY BY THREE O'CLOCK ON THAT DAY, WE DISCONNECTED. WE WILL TURN OUR TRUCK AROUND AND COME AND RECONNECT. IT'S A LOT OF TRANSPORTATION WASTE. IT'S A LOT. AND JUST OUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE FIELD WERE PEOPLE LIKE, OH, DIDN'T PAY MY WATER BILL. GOTTA RUN DOWN AND PAY IT OF, AND THAT THE MATH SHOWS THAT ABOUT HALF THE PEOPLE THAT [00:20:01] GET DISCONNECTED TURN AROUND AND PAY. SO IT'S JUST, AGAIN, IT'S KIND OF A HABITUATION THING. WE'VE, WE'VE TOLD YOU IF YOU'RE LATE, YOU'RE 19 DAYS LATE, YOU HAD ALL THIS TIME TO PAY, YOU DIDN'T, YOU FINALLY MADE IT TO DISCONNECT. NOW PAY AND WE'LL DRIVE RIGHT BACK TO YOUR HOUSE AND RECONNECT IT. SO IT'S JUST A CONSIDERATION. SO THOSE THREE CONSIDERATIONS DEFINITELY NEED YOUR FEEDBACK. THE FIRST ONE IT IS, IS AN ORDINANCE CHANGE. AND THE LAST TWO ARE JUST SORT OF INTERNAL POLICY DIRECTION. I'LL STOP TALKING AND WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH THE DEPOSIT. ANYTHING, IF YOU HAVE HARD QUESTIONS, THEY'RE GONNA ANSWER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER AND THE TEAM THAT WORKED ON THIS, I APOLOGIZE, I WAS LATE SO I DIDN'T GET TO SEE THE, THE EARLY COMMENTS. UM, I'M OKAY WITH THE DEPOSITS ON THE FIRST BILL. UM, I HAVE NO BIG HICCUPS ABOUT IT. AND THEN WE'LL JUST SEE HOW IT GOES. UM, SO DO YOU WANNA TAKE 'EM ONE BY ONE AND YOU COME BACK? I THINK SO. YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE EASIEST. SO I, I'M OKAY WITH THAT. AND UM, IF WE CAN REDUCE THE NUMBER IT CLICKS. AMAZING. SO YEAH. JAMIE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. UM, I LIKED ALL THE SLIDES AND UM, ALL THE FLOW CHARTS AND ALL THAT. IT WAS NICE, EASY, EASY TO UNDERSTAND. UM, I AM ALSO OKAY WITH INCLUDING THE DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL BASED ON WHAT YOU PRESENTED. KEEP IT REAL QUICK. DITTO . THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATION. UM, YEAH, OF COURSE WITH THE ORDINANCE CHANGE, YOU KNOW, YOU, IT'S A LITTLE IFFY 'CAUSE YOU, YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW THAT ORDINANCE CHANGE IS GONNA, HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT IT. BUT I, UH, I'M FEELING PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH THE ORDINANCE CHANGE, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I GOT A THUMBS UP. SOUNDS GOOD. . I'M GONNA SAY WITH THAT ON THE DEPOSIT, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, I HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANY COMPLAINTS HONESTLY. AND THINKING IN THE PROFESSION THAT I'M IN, I'M TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL, STARTING NEW SERVICE. I THINK WHY NOT GIVE AN OPTION FOR IT AND SEE HOW THE OPTION GOES AND LET THE NUMBERS DECIDE IF WE DO A DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL. IF PEOPLE ARE WANTING TO COME IN AND PAY IT RIGHT UP FRONT, WHY WOULDN'T WE WANT TO TAKE THAT IF WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE WANTING TO DO A DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL. BUT LET'S, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT IT THREE, TWO MONTH PERIOD AND SEE WHO, WHO DOES WHAT MORE. I THINK THAT WOULD BE, AND AND LIKE YOU SAID, SOME PEOPLE WILL PAY THAT DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL AND NOT PAY THE BILL. WE'RE GONNA BE RIGHT BACK LOSING MONEY BECAUSE WE'RE NOT CO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO COLLECT IT. YEAH. SO I UNDERSTAND WHERE EVERYONE IS COMING FROM, BUT WHY NOT GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK, GIVE, GIVE THE CITIZENS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP US MAKE THIS DECISION BY LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS ON WHAT THEY WILL. SO I CAN'T COMMIT TO COMMIT THAT STANDING HERE BECAUSE THAT WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER THE SYSTEM CAN BE TRIGGERED. LIKE WHAT, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US AT THE WINDOW TO EITHER SAY, HEY, DO IT THIS WAY OR DO IT THAT WAY. I DON'T KNOW THE CAPABILITY OF THE BACK END OF THE SYSTEM. MM-HMM . OR THE WORKLOAD IT WOULD PUT ON THE STAFF TO DO THAT. BUT WE CAN EXPLORE IT. YEAH. I JUST CAN'T SAY FOR SURE THAT IT, THAT THAT WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS BETTER. 'CAUSE IT MIGHT COMPLICATE WELL IT, IT, IT COULD, BUT WE WOULD KNOW. AND WE'RE NOT UP HERE TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS JUST BECAUSE WE THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. I MEAN, WE WERE ELECTED BY THE CITIZENS, LET'S GET SOME INPUT FROM THEM AND SEE WHAT THEY WOULD WANT. YES MA'AM. I HAVE A QUESTION ON THAT. UM, SO COULDN'T SOMEONE ALSO, OKAY, YOU'VE COME IN, YOU'RE CONNECTED, SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT, UM, ONLINE ACCOUNT, WHATEVER, COULDN'T THEY JUST PAY THAT DEPOSIT ONLINE AND IT SHOW UP AS A CREDIT? SO WHEN THE FIRST BILL IS PAID, BECAUSE LIKE I I'LL TELL YOU THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WINTER I'M PAYING A LITTLE BIT EXTRA ON MY GAS BILL BECAUSE I KNOW AT WINTER IS GONNA GO UP. AND SO WHEN WINTER'S HERE, I HARDLY HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING 'CAUSE I'VE PAID SO MUCH UPFRONT ONLINE. SO IF YOU GO IN AND DO A DEPOSIT, UM, AND ONLINE, WOULDN'T THAT GO TOWARDS THE FIRST MONTH'S BILL? I HEAR THEM WHISPERING BEHIND ME. IT MAY OR MAY NOT. 'CAUSE IT DOES HAVE TO SHOW UP AS A DEPOSIT BECAUSE HYPOTHETICALLY A DEPOSIT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD GET BACK AS OPPOSED TO A CREDIT THAT WOULD JUST GO TOWARDS [00:25:01] YOUR REGULAR BILL. SO IT SORT OF DEPENDS ON THE CONFIGURATION AND HOW SMART THAT SYSTEM IS. OKAY, GOT IT. I PASSED . GOOD. BUT IT, IT'S ALL WORTH IT. IT IS ALL WORTH EXPLAINING. AND THIS ONE, AGAIN, IT'S NOT, THIS ONE ISN'T LIFE SHATTERING. WE IDENTIFY THAT WASTE. AND FROM A CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE, IF I'M ONLINE AND AND DOING MY THING, I JUST WANNA DO IT. I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO GO BACK AND FORTH AND BE LIKE, HERE I PAID IT. PEOPLE HAVE TO CHECK THE EMAIL BOXES. IF SOMETHING SITS IN THEIR EMAIL BOX FOR TOO LONG, IT GETS KICKED TO THE NEXT SHIFT, THINGS CAN GET LOST AND IT'S A LITTLE MORE CONFUSING. SO THIS WAS JUST SIMPLY A CUSTOMER CONVENIENCE THAT HAS A, A SMALL RISK THRESHOLD. MM-HMM . SO WE'LL, WE'LL EXPLORE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE ON THE BACK END OR JUST TO GET THE PULSE OF THE PEOPLE WITHOUT ACTUALLY MAKING THE CHANGE. UM, BUT IT'S, THIS IS, THIS ONE IS A SMALLER ONE. JUST AS A CUSTOMER, PARTICULARLY A DIGITAL CUSTOMER, THE CONVENIENCE IS HIGHER FOR ME. AND SO WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK A LITTLE MORE 'CAUSE IF IF WE MADE THIS CHANGE, WE WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO YOU, UH, AND HAVE THE ORDINANCE REDRAFTED FOR SURE. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT, THE NEXT TWO. WE STILL, WE STILL HAD MORE JAMIE. OH, GO AHEAD. I THOUGHT THERE WAS MORE. IS THERE MORE PROBLEM PROBLEM? NO, THEY, THEY THUMB UP. WE GOT 'EM. UH, WELL, DOES COUNCIL WANT US TO EXPLORE MORE? I DON'T THINK IT NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED ANY FURTHER. I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. GET GET CITIZEN FEEDBACK. THE DIFFICULTY I SEE WITH THAT IS THAT ALL CITIZENS ARE ALREADY PAYING FOR WATER. LIKE THEY'VE ALREADY, THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN PLACE. SO REALLY THE THE PEOPLE YOU'RE HOPING TO HEAR FROM ARE SOMEONE WHO MIGHT MOVE HERE AND OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT. AND WHAT I'M SAYING, SO HOW ARE YOU GONNA, WHAT I'M SAYING FEEDBACK FROM THEM IF WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE THEM THE OPTION, WE'RE GONNA GET FEEDBACK TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE PREFER TO DO, WHO ARE MOVING HERE. I'M NOT, I'M NOT SAYING, BUT THEY'RE ONLY GONNA HAVE, THEY'RE ONLY GONNA KNOW THE ONE THEY CHOSE. YEAH. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I I DON'T SEE HOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MY FRIEND MARCUS . SO, UM, THE WAY THE DEPOSIT GOES IS WHEN A CUSTOMER COME IN AND SET UP THEIR ACCOUNT CUSTOMER SERVICE, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP HAS TO CREATE A MISCELLANEOUS BILL ON THE SPOT SO THEY CAN GO AND MAKE THAT PAYMENT WITH COLLECT WITH THE COLLECTIONS REP. WHEN THE CUSTOMER PAYS ON ON, I MEAN CREATE A SET UP ACCOUNT ONLINE, THEY GET ALL THAT DOCUMENTATION, SET UP THE ACCOUNT, EMAIL THE CUSTOMER BACK AND FORTH REQUESTING ANY DOCUMENTS THAT ARE MISSING. ONCE THEY HAVE ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS TO SET UP THE ACCOUNT, THEN THEY EMAIL THAT CUSTOMER THE ACCOUNT NUMBER AND THE CUSTOMER ID NUMBER. ONCE THEY EMAIL THE CUSTOMER THAT THE CUSTOMER CAN GO ONLINE AND MAKE THAT PAYMENT FOR THEIR DEPOSIT, NOW THAT CUSTOMER HAS TO EMAIL US BACK IT SAYING, HERE'S MY CONFIRMATION NUMBER. AND ONCE WE HAVE THAT CONFIRMATION NUMBER, THEN THAT'S WHEN THE WORK ORDER GOES OUT AND THE SERVICE HAS STARTED FOR THAT CUSTOMER. YES, MA'AM. IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO GET A NEW SYSTEM? I, I'M, I'M THROWING THAT OUT THERE ONLY BECAUSE I DON'T UNDER THE BACKSIDE OF THIS, THAT DOES SEEM LIKE SUCH OVERKILL, UM, COMPARED TO, TO OTHER CITIES AND OTHER THINGS. AND, AND I I WASN'T GONNA MENTION THIS BECAUSE I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE GONNA MOVE ALONG FROM THAT FIRST ONE. BUT I WILL TELL YOU, I RECENTLY HAD SOMEONE WHO WAS DOING THE BACK AND FORTH AND UNFORTUNATELY SOMETHING HAPPENED WHEN Y'ALL EMAILED HIM AND IT WENT TO HIS JUNK EMAIL AND THEN HE DIDN'T KNOW. AND THEN HE WAITED LIKE SIX DAYS AND FOUND OUT BECAUSE IT, IT WAS LIKE A WHOLE THING. AND I WAS LIKE, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE DID THAT AND I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT IT'S, IT'S A STRANGE SYSTEM AND YOU KNOW, AND Y'ALL DID A GREAT JOB OF EXPLAINING IT, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD BE MORE CUT AND DRY AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE SYSTEM THAT WE'VE PURCHASED AND THAT WE'RE USING BECAUSE IS THAT THE ACTUAL PROBLEM AND COMMUNICATING THE PAYMENT SYSTEM YOU MEAN? YEAH. YES. THE PAYMENT SYSTEM. NOT, NOT THE, THE PAYMENT SYSTEM. I DON'T THINK IT'S THE SYSTEM. I THINK IT JUST, WE NEED TO WORK WITH IT TO FIND A BETTER OPTION TO LET OUT ON THE WEBSITE. I DON'T THINK IT'S THE SYSTEM ITSELF. YEAH. AND I, I KNOW WE'RE ONLY GIVING DIRECTION ON THE ORDINANCE, BUT TO ME WHAT SOUNDS THE EASIEST FOR A A NEW CUSTOMER IS YOU GET ONLINE, OH I NEED WATER, I NEED WATER, I NEED TO PAY A DEPOSIT. IT GOES TO WHATEVER LITTLE BACKSIDE THAT SAYS THAT'S MEANT FOR DEPOSIT. NOW WHATEVER PROGRAM ONLINE I'M USING SAYS HERE'S MY ACCOUNT NUMBER. BOOM, I HAVE MY ACCOUNT NUMBER, I HAVE MY, I PAID MY DEPOSIT AND IT'S ALL DONE. A LOT OF PLACES DO THINGS LIKE THAT. SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW. SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T DO IT ONLINE? AND I'M SAYING THIS, LIKE I SAID, I DEAL WITH PEOPLE MOVING HERE. YEAH. [00:30:01] SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE AREN'T DOING IT ONLINE. THEY'RE GOING UP THERE SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING. SO WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON'T HAVE CAPABILITIES TO DO IT ONLINE? IT'S, IT'S STILL GOING THEIR FIRST BILL, BUT YEAH. YEAH. THEY WOULD JUST BE IN PERSON. NO, NO. I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE ONES NOW THEY, DO WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE COMING IN AND DO WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE DOING IT ONLINE? DO WE HAVE NUMBERS ON THAT? IT'S, IT'S 50 50. WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, CUSTOMERS COMING, UH, DOING, SUBMITTING THEIR APPLICATION ONLINE. THE ONLINE PROCESS HAS INCREASED A LOT SINCE WE BROUGHT IN THE PORTAL. UH, ONE THING THING I CAN ADD IS IF WE DID MOVE TOWARDS, UH, PUTTING A DEPOSIT ON THE FIRST BILL, UH, IT'S NOT A BAD THING FOR THE CITY BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT CUSTOMER INFORMATION. SO IF THAT CUSTOMER WAS DIDN'T PAY OR SAY, HEY, I'M, I'M SKIPPING OUTTA HERE. WHEN THAT CUSTOMER RETURNS AND TRY TO SET UP A NEW ADDRESS, THAT CUSTOMER IS STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT. WHATEVER USAGE THAT, UM, THAT THEY, THE CONSUMPTION AT THAT ADDRESS MM-HMM . THAT THEY DIDN'T PAY FOR. OKAY. COOL. QUICK QUESTION. I MEAN, JUST THROW NUMBERS OUT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. HOW MANY NEW CUSTOMERS DO WE GET A YEAR, A MONTH? DID THE BALLPARK? DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ACCURATE. I'M, I'M GONNA SAY WE GET ABOUT 200, UH, CONNECTIONS A MONTH. NEW CUSTOMERS. AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR, FOR UH, OUR GIRLS AT THE OFFICE TO SET IT UP? IF THEY COME INSIDE 10 MINUTES INSIDE, IT TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES. 20 MINUTES? YES SIR. OKAY. SO BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO AVOID LOSING A HUNDRED DOLLARS AND WE'RE SHOOTING OURSELVES TO, WE'RE SAVING 10 BUCKS OVERALL. 'CAUSE IT'S COSTING US $90 TO DO THIS PROCESS. INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM JUST DO IT ONLINE AND PUT IT ON THE BILL AND PAY EVENTUALLY AND PAY IT WITH, WITH THE FIRST BILL. IT'S TRYING TO BE COST EFFICIENT AND EFFICIENT WITH OUR WORK STAFF BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER THINGS THEY NEED TO GET DONE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING AT. AND WITH, WITH SARAH'S EXAMPLE THAT SHE USED WITH THE CUSTOMER, THAT IS, IT IS THE DIGITAL PART THAT IS MOST CONCERNING. 'CAUSE IT'S THE BACK AND FORTH, IT'S THE MAILBOXES, IT'S THE, I DIDN'T GET THE EMAIL. A LOT GETS LOST IN DIGITAL TRANSPORTATION AND THEN YOU GOTTA START ALL OVER, YOU'RE DELAYED AND DON'T EVEN KNOW IT. SO THAT'S OKAY. I'M STILL GOOD WITH THE ARGUMENT. OKAY, THANK YOU. NEXT LIMIT, NUMBER OF CAP PAYMENT PLANS PER YEAR. THE PAYMENT PLANS PER YEAR. MM-HMM . START WITH ME AGAIN. MM-HMM . I'M A LITTLE HALF AND HALF ON THAT. UM, BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT A FAMILY'S GOING THROUGH AND I UNDERSTAND HABITUAL, BUT WE'RE ALSO IN AN INDUSTRY TOWN WHERE MAYBE WHOEVER IS PAYING THE BILLS WAS ON CONTRACT WITH ONE OF OUR INDUSTRIES AND THEN THEY'RE LAID OFF AND THEN THEY'RE BROUGHT BACK ON. AND I MEAN THAT COULD BE, UH, AN, YOU KNOW, AN INSTANCE WHERE THEY COULD BECOME HABITUAL. SO, UH, I, I'M KIND OF ON THE FENCE ABOUT THAT ONE. UM, WHETHER WE WANT TO LIMIT THE CAPS AND REMEMBER THE TOTAL THAT THEY OWE IS STILL THE SAME, IT'S JUST HOW IT'S STRUCTURED. YEAH. UM, I'M OKAY WITH THE CAPS, HOWEVER, AS A COUNCIL, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. UM, YOU SAID SOME KEY POINTS THAT MOST OTHER CITIES, THEY, THEY HAVE A LIMIT. MY BIG CONCERNS IS JUST ARE WE GOING TO BE EFFICIENT IN COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN DEPENDENT ON THAT SYSTEM FOR A LONG TIME? MM-HMM . I'M WELL AWARE OF NUMEROUS PEOPLE IN, IN MY OWN LITTLE BUBBLES THAT THIS, THEY, THEY RUN ON THE DAY IT'S DUE. GO PAY IT REAL QUICK. I'M SORRY. ON THE DISCONNECT DAY, LET ME BE VERY CLEAR. LIKE, LIKE THEY KNOW THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? YEAH. MM-HMM . FOR SURE. AND SO FOR ME, I THINK THAT NOT ONLY IS IT IS IT A BETTER SYSTEM TO HAVE CAPS, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE EFFICIENTLY, OVERLY COMMUNICATE. UM, I WOULD GO TO MAYBE ONE EIGHT, I'M JUST GONNA THROW OUT AN IDEA, ONE TO A QUARTER FOR A WHILE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. UM, BEFORE WE, WE GO TO SOMETHING HARSH LIKE EVERY SIX MONTHS. UM, AND, AND I KNOW WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO THE RECONNECT LATER AND I HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TO SAY THAT, BUT AS FAR AS CAPS, UM, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT THEY'RE PAYING DOESN'T CHANGE. THERE IS A WAY TO LOOK AT THIS THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY HELPING THE CUSTOMER, YOU'RE DIGGING THEM OUT OF THE HOLE. AND, AND, AND THE EXAMPLE THAT I HAVE IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF BANKS USE THE, UM, OVERDRAFT AND THEN PEOPLE GET VERY DEPENDENT ON THAT AND THEY START USING IT AS PART OF WHAT THEY SEE AS THEIR, THEIR INCOME IN. AND THEN WHEN IT'S TAKEN AWAY, UM, IT'S VERY, VERY HARD AT FIRST. UM, BUT THEN IT'S, UM, THEY FIND A WAY AND, AND THEN THEY'RE NOT IN THAT HOLE ANYMORE. [00:35:01] AND SO, UM, I THINK IT CAN HELP IN A WAY TO, TO PUT THESE LIMITS. BUT I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO, YOU KNOW, I'M WORRIED ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE ON FIXED INCOMES, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BUILT THEIR, THEIR BILLS AROUND THIS SYSTEM THAT WE'VE ALLOWED. UM, SO I'M OKAY WITH IT, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL HOW WE ROLL THAT OUT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND, AND THE COMMUNICATION. YES. THAT MAKES SENSE. ALRIGHT, PIGGYBACK ON WHAT MY COLLEAGUE SAID. UM, I THINK THE KEY WORD HERE IS PER YEAR, UM, TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, X AMOUNT PER YEAR. IT SHOULDN'T BE A, A LIFESTYLE OF GOING TO THE CAPS, BUT I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE INDUSTRIAL TOWN PEOPLE WORK TURNAROUNDS AND THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OFF FOR SIX MONTHS AND, UM, THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET FOR THAT TIME UNTIL THEY GET ANOTHER, UH, JOB. BUT, UM, I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT WHOLE PLANS PER YEAR REALLY. I THINK THAT'S FAIR TO SAY. OKAY. YOU, YOU HAD A CAP, UM, YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, TWO, THREE, MAYBE P PLANS FOR A YEAR, BUT THAT'S IT FOR THE YEAR. I'M FINE WITH THAT. SO MAYOR, CAN I ASK A QUESTION, UH, BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER FOR THE WORK SESSION, THE NEXT STEP FOR US WOULD BE TO PRESENT THE ORDINANCE FOR Y'ALL. AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'VE SPOKEN A LOT OF GENERALITIES RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR SPECIFIC DIRECTION FROM Y'ALL TONIGHT. AND SO IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT I, I'M, I'M OKAY WITH A CAP, CAN YOU GIVE US A NUMBER AND WE CAN GIVE YOU OR RANGE? WELL JUST LET'S FINISH GOING THROUGH. YES SIR. I'M JUST, BEFORE WE GET TO ALL OF IT, JUST SO THAT WE CAN, UM, AFTER WE, AFTER WE GET THROUGH THE NEXT THREE, WE WILL WE'LL DISCUSS THAT. YES, SIR. AND JAY, I WAS, SAY AGAIN, THE LAST TWO, THE, THE RECONNECTS AND THE PAYMENT PLANS AREN'T PER ORDINANCE, THAT'S AN INTERNAL PRACTICE. MM-HMM . YEP. UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF FIXED INCOMES THAT ARE, THAT ARE OUT THERE AND, AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF ELDERLY THAT WE HAVE, ESPECIALLY IN MY, IN MY DISTRICT, SO I UNDERSTAND IT IN IN IN WHAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH MY PARENTS ON FIXED INCOME TOO. BUT THERE, THERE DOES HAVE TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF CAP, RIGHT? 'CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE CREATING, AGAIN, THIS IS TRYING TO BE THE MOST EFFICIENT WITH THE WORK HOURS WE HAVE AND WHAT WE CAN DO WITHIN THOSE HOURS. SO I I AGREE WITH THE CAP FOUR. UM, WHAT WERE, I THINK YOU HAD IT ON THE SLIDE, WHAT WERE THE CAPS IN PLACE BY SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUN, UH, ONE PER YEAR AND THEN THERE WAS ONE THAT I DON'T REMEMBER SPECIFICALLY. WHICH CITY WAS ONE PER SIX MONTHS. SO TWO PER YEAR. TWO PER YEAR. I'M, I'D BE, I'D BE IN FAVOR OF TWO PER YEAR. JUST MOVING TO THAT AND IF WE END UP AT ONE LATER, BUT STARTING WITH THE TWO YEAH, THAT, THAT WAS GONNA BE MY QUESTION. WHAT WAS THE, THE AVERAGE OF THE CITY? SO IT'S AVERAGE BASICALLY TWO. 1.5. YEAH. YEAH. FIVE. UH, SO TWO. UH, SO I'D BE GOOD WITH PUTTING THE CAP AT TWO AND, AND AGAIN I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HARDSHIPS COME ALONG AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. OR, AND I'LL CAVEAT THAT 'CAUSE YOU INDICATED THAT IT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT SYSTEM. IF I COME IN AND IT'S LIKE, WELL MY BILL IS $3,000 THIS MONTH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED, UH, THAT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROCESS. CORRECT. AND IF IT'S JUST THE AVERAGE BILL AND YOU KNOW, I COME UP SHORT FOR THAT MONTH, UH, COME IN AND WORK OUT A PAYMENT PLAN. 'CAUSE AGAIN, YOU GOTTA GET BACK ON TRACK FOR YOUR REGULAR BILL THE NEXT MONTH AND THE NEXT MONTH AND SO FORTH. SO I THINK TWO A YEAR WOULD BE SUFFICIENT. AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THE PROCESS MORE EFFICIENT, UM, AND TO, TO UNLEARN FOLKS THAT HAVE, IF WE'RE, THE CITY IS REAL GOOD ABOUT TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO AVOID THE SYSTEM, SO WE NEED TO UNLEARN THEM. IT'S LIKE THE, THE BILLS ARE DUE NOW. OUR BILLS ARE DUE EVERY MONTH. THE CITY HAS TO PAY FOR WATER. OUR BILLS ARE DUE. I DON'T SEE HARRIS COUNTY CUTTING US A PAYMENT PLAN WHEN, WHEN WE'RE BUYING WATER FROM THEM. SO, OR CITY OF HOUSTON. CITY OF HOUSTON. SO, UH, BUT I THINK TWO A YEAR. I THINK TWO A YEAR WOULD BE ADEQUATE. AND, AND THEN AGAIN, THE EXTRAORDINARY CASES COME IN. YOU HANDLE THOSE ONE-ON-ONE. I'M PRETTY SURE. SO WHAT, WHAT WAS THE NUMBER YOU SAID? FOUR. TWO FOUR. OKAY. THE OTHER SAID 2, 2, 2 4 AND, AND I LIKE THE FOUR ONE PER QUARTER BECAUSE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU THAT'S MY NUMBER. YEAH. AND GOING BACK TO WHAT COUNCILMAN ALVARADO SAID, WE ARE, WE ARE IN A CITY WHERE WE HAVE A LOT OF CONTRACTORS AND THEY CAN BE IN AND OUT OF JOBS. UM, OUR ELDERLY POPULATION IS GROWING. THAT'S WHY WE'RE GETTING SO, SO MANY DEVELOPMENTS WANTING TO COME IN FOR THEM AND THEY ARE ON FIXED INCOME. I'D BE IN FAVOR OF FOUR A YEAR, MR. MAYOR. SORRY, . UM, AND, AND LIKE I SAID, I'M ON THE FENCE, BUT I THINK, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE TWO PER YEAR AND IF WE COULD START WITH THE FOUR AND THEN EVENTUALLY JUST MAYBE END UP AT THE ONE, UM, [00:40:01] TO HELP EASE THAT TRANSITION. CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? MM-HMM . UM, I DON'T HAVE THE SLIDES MEMORIZED. I WAS WONDERING WHAT THE, HOW OFTEN ARE THE, THE, UM, CITIZENS THAT ARE USING IT HABITUALLY? ARE YOU SEEING, CAN YOU, I DON'T REMEMBER. IS THERE A NUMBER THAT THEY'RE USING IT ON AVERAGE? SO, NO, I, WHAT I DID WRITE AT THAT WAS RAN REPORTS FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS AND JUST HAD UP NEXT TO EACH OTHER CHECKING I'VE SEEN YOUR NAME IN THE SIX MONTHS AND YOUR NAME, AND IT WAS ON THOSE PROBABLY 20 TO 40% WOULD SHOW UP IN THAT SIX MONTH PERIOD MORE THAN ONE TIME. AT LEAST TWICE, IF NOT THREE TIMES MORE THAN ONE TIME IN A SIX MONTH PERIOD. YEAH. 20 TO 40%. YEAH, I WOULD SAY DOES THAT, SO HE, YEAH, HE MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING SMARTER, SAY 2025, WE HAD 2,700 PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT. SO THE PURPOSE OF THE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT IS TO HELP THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP ON THEIR PAST DUE BALANCE. THE MINIMUM THAT WE GIVE A CUSTOMER IS THREE MONTHS TO, UH, THREE MONTHS PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT WITH THAT FIRST PAYMENT BEING NOT THE MONTH OF THEIR BILL, BUT THE MONTH AFTER THE FOLLOWING MONTH. OKAY. SO THE, I HAVE, I HAVE A, A QUESTION THAT'S BETTER THAT OLD LEAD DOES NOT, DOES MAKING A A PAYMENT PLAN AVAILABLE IN OUR ORDINANCE FOUR TIMES A YEAR, DOES THAT EVEN CHANGE THE EFFICIENCY? BECAUSE IF, IF WE'RE ALREADY ALLOWING THREE MONTHS, THEN ALLOWING A PAYMENT PLAN ONCE A QUARTER DOESN'T ACTUALLY INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY. AND I, SO I AM GOING TO CHANGE MY NUMBER TO, UM, I'M GONNA SAY TWO A YEAR AS WELL BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT THERE'S ANY DENT MADE IN THE EFFICIENCY OF THE ORDINANCE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE TODAY. AND, AND DEPENDING ON HOW HIGH THE BILL IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WILLING TO WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER. OH, ABSOLUTELY. IF, IF JUST SAY THEIR BILL IS $800, ALL THEY GOT IS, UH, THREE 50, WE'RE NOT GONNA SAY, NO, YOU DON'T HAVE HALF, YOU NEED TO PAY HALF. BUT WE WOULD TAKE THAT AND WE KNOW PEOPLE FALL ON HARD TIMES. SO EVEN IF THREE MONTHS IS NOT ENOUGH, HEY, WE'LL STRETCH IT OUT FOR YOU FOUR MONTHS OR, OR WE TRY TO WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER. WE, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA STRETCH IT OUT 36 MONTHS AND YOU ONLY OWE $800. YEAH. BUT WE'LL WORK WITH THE CUSTOMER AS MUCH AS WE CAN AND THE THREE MONTHS IS NOT IN STONE. WE CAN STRETCH IT OUT FURTHER IF NEEDED. YOU SAID IT LIVE SO THERE IS THERE . UH, BUT, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT MATHEMATICALLY AND THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT THAT IF IT'S THREE MONTHS THAT MAX WOULD BE FOUR PER YEAR. SO YES. IT'S NOT AN EFFICIENCY AT THAT POINT OR CHANGE MY NUMBERS TWO, SO. OKAY. YEAH, I'LL STICK WITH 2, 2, 2. OKAY. HIGH CONSENSUS. GOOD. OH, I'M BACK ON. UH, THE LAST ONE IS PERFORMING THE RECONNECTS THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AS OPPOSED TO IF THEY PAY BY THREE O'CLOCK, SENDING THE CREW BACK TO THE SAME HOUSE. I HAVE NO CONCERNS WITH THAT. I WOULD AGREE WITH IT. I HAVE NO CONCERNS MAYOR. I AM COMPLETELY OKAY WITH THAT AS WELL. AND I DID THE, THE QUESTION DID COME UP AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS, UM, OVER WEEKENDS. UM, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE OUR PRACTICE OF DISCONNECTING ON FRIDAY BECAUSE THE WEEKEND IS, IS A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. SO IT WOULD, IT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, JUGGLE THINGS INTERNALLY SO THAT IT WOULD BE THE NEXT DAY DAY. SO YOU CAN'T SEND THE CITY EMPLOYEE AT 7:00 AM ON SATURDAY. HE WASN'T PAYING YET. NO, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA GO WITH NO GOOD DEAL. MAKE A COMMENT. YES, SIR. MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT WE DIDN'T DO DISCONNECTS ON FRIDAY. WE MAY NOT CURRENTLY, BUT IF WE NO, THERE YOU GO. WE, WE ALREADY, WE ALREADY WORKED THE PROBLEM. YEAH. SO YEAH, BECAUSE, BECAUSE IF WE DO DISCONNECTS ON FRIDAY, THAT MEANS WE WILL BE GOING SATURDAY TO RECONNECT AND MAKE, I'M GONNA HAVE A QUESTION. IF WE DON'T, IF WE DON'T DO DISCONNECTS ON FRIDAY, CORRECT, THAT MEANS THURSDAY DISCONNECT WILL GET RECONNECTED ON FRIDAY AND THEN IT STARTS TO AGAIN ON MONDAY. MONDAY, YEAH. OKAY. I'M GOOD. I'M GOOD WITH THAT. 'CAUSE YEAH, WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE SOMEBODY WAIT THREE DAYS TO GET WATER BACK, YOU KNOW, WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT DAY OR NEXT MORNING, MID AFTERNOON. I, I'M, I'M OKAY WITH BUT NOT THREE DAYS. AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS PRACTICE CHANGE WOULD BE WE WOULD BE DOING LESS DISCONNECTS RIGHT? OVER, OVER TIME. THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT THAT WILL COME TRUE, BUT THAT IS THE HOPE. I'M GOOD WITH THAT THEN. SO WE, WHAT ABOUT WITH, UM, IF IT'S NOT A RESIDENCE, SAY A CHURCH, ARE WE DISCONNECTING ON A, ON A FRIDAY? AND I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE I GOT A PHONE CALL ABOUT THAT WITHIN THE LAST TWO WEEKS. HIS QUESTION WAS IF IT'S A, IF IT'S LIKE A CHURCH OR A BUSINESS COMMERCIAL AS OPPOSED TO A RESIDENCE, WHEN DO WE DO THE DISCONNECT? SO WITH COMMERCIAL, UM, UH, MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENTS, THOSE DISCONNECTIONS [00:45:02] ARE PROCESSED, HAVE A DIFFERENT PROCESS. SO WE WOULD TAG THOSE CUSTOMERS AND WITHOUT TURNING THEM OFF AND LET THEM KNOW, HEY, YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO COME AND MAKE THAT PAYMENT. MM-HMM . AND THEN IF THE, UH, COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT DOES NOT COME IN, THEN WE GO TURN THEM OFF. AND THAT WILL HAPPEN ON A FRIDAY. NO SIR. NO SIR. OKAY. WELL, UM, WE'RE GONNA, I'M HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT THEN. WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE WE CAN CAME TO A CONSENSUS ON ALL THIS. I'M VERY HAPPY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSENSUS AND UH, HAVE A NICE BREAK AND WE'LL SEE YOU AT THE COUNCIL MEETING. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU JAMIE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. HAVE AN EXHAUSTED EVERYTHING ON THIS WORK SESSION AGENDA AND NOW ADJOURN THIS MEETING AT 6:18 PM YES. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.