Utilities Town Hall - 2/20/20

Utilities Administration Town Hall

Hello Copperas Cove!

The Council:
Mayor Diaz-Present
Joann Courtland-Present
Fred Chavez-Present
Dan Yancey-Absent
Jay Manning-Absent
Dianne Campbell-Present
Marc Payne-Present
Jack Smith- Absent

Ryan Haverlah (City Manager) held a town hall to update the city about where things stand with the Utilities Administration transfer away from Fathom. It was a packed house at the Civic Center, with more seats that were brought out to accommodate the extra people that showed up.

To start things out, Ryan Haverlah gave a condensed review of the history with Fathom and how we've gotten to where we are now. Here's where we are now:

With Fathom out of the picture, this is our current billing system cycle. The customer uses water, which is captured by the water meter. The water meter then sends the info to a stationary antenna every 15 minutes. Now, technology isn't always perfect, so they do have hiccups sometime where things may get in the way of that signal transition, but once that block is removed (cars, weather, etc), the full info is transmitted. From the antenna, it goes to a secure database that is run by Neptune. The database sends the info to Incode who makes the information readable by our city staff. The city staff then develops the bills and reviews each bill. The data is sent to DataProse to be printed and mailed out to the citizens. It's also sent to WaterSmart, who provides the online software for people to access their online accounts, which works with Paymentus to process online payments. With the exit of Fathom, we had to bring in Incode, DataProse, WaterSmart, and Paymentus to keep things running smooth.

We have most of the payment options restored that citizens may be used to from before. You can go to the Utility Department to make payments or address your account, of course but people may not know you can also go to the Police Department and drop off checks after hours which they will get to the Utility Department for you. The full list of ways you can make payments are as follows -

By Mail:

City of Copperas Cove Utilities Administration, P.O. Drawer 1419, Copperas Cove, TX 76522 (check or money order; include bill stub or name, service address and account number)

By Phone:

Call the local office at (254)547-8718 to make payments by phone (credit/debit card)

Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm

In Person:

City of Copperas Cove Utilities Administration, 914 S. Main Street, Suite A (check, money order, cash, credit/debit card); Suite B (check, money order, credit/debit card – no cash)

Hours: 8:00am to 4:30pm

Drop Box Locations:

Utility Administration, 914 S. Main Street, Suite A & B (Suite A has a drop location available inside during business hours; Suite B door has an outside drop location available AFTER business hours)

Police Department, 302 E Ave E (payments may be dropped off inside the facility by handing the sealed payment to a Records Clerk or Communications Operator, available 24 hours)

*(Drop Box payments should be check or money order only; include bill stub or name, service address and account number)

Online:

Customers who previously registered for an online account, or had an account number issued prior to the transition, may now log in and make online payments through the WaterSmart customer payment portal. Please note that until the transition is complete and past account payments are reconciled, the customer balance may not be accurate. See link at: HTTPS://COPPERASCOVETX.WATERSMART.COM/INDEX.PHP/WELCOME

Automatic Draft (ACH):

Coming soon; will be announced once transition is complete.

KIOSK: 

Coming soon; will be announced once new Utilities Building is up and running. 

As it has been, payments with credit card will a 2.8% fee attached. This is an expense brought on by the credit card processing company, and is being passed on directly to the customer. 

The bills will be starting to go out for area 1 this week. Keep in mind that these initial bills will be larger than usual because they encompass multiple billing periods. If you feel like you need help with your bill, please go to the Utilities Administration as soon as possible to discuss setting up payment arrangements with no disconnect. Late fees and disconnects will begin in April 2020. Notice of late fees and disconnects will be on all bills going out starting this month. 

This wrapped up the presentation portion of the Town Hall and opened discussion up for written questions first, and then Q&A on the floor. Some questions that were brought up included:

-Are we going to be truly locally run? Yes, but with help from outside vendors. Everyone handling the physical reading of your meters, and the handling of your bills will be people that are your neighbors and fellow citizens right here in Copperas Cove. When you have an issue of your bill that you need help with, it will be someone that you may see in HEB one day. Please keep that in mind when you're upset about your bill and are needing help. Everyone working with you on your water bill is someone from your community. 

-How much has this cost tax payers? $0. Not a dime. Nothing has come from property tax, sales tax, hotel tax, or any other type of tax. This has bee 100% funded by customer water fees. 

-When can we do Auto Pay? Ryan thought that was already up, but was informed it is not. He will be making a phone call to Water Smart and working on getting that operational as soon as possible. 

-Are senior discounts going to continue? Yes. The city council is the only group that can alter/end the senior discount, and they have not voted to do anything with them. If you're interested in applying for a senior discount, you can go to the Utilities Administration Building and apply there. Some customers were concerned they were not getting the discount because it's not marked on their bills. One citizen spoke up and said the fee is automatically applied on your bill - it is not marked as being applied. To make sure it is being applied, you can contact the Utilities Department by phone or walk in and they can help with that. 

For help with your Utility Bill, please call (254)547-8718. M-F 8:00am to 4:30pm