Page 209 - NRH FY20 Approved Budget

DEPARTMENT / DIVISION FUND
FINANCE – Water Department UTILITY
PROGRAM NAME
WATER DEPARTMENT PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION / MISSION
The Water Department Program provides the commercial and residential customers of the City of North Richland Hills with a
billing product for water, wastewater and solid waste that is timely and accurate. The program receives, counts and deposits
revenues collected from customers and other departments throughout the City. The program provides assistance with water bills,
account set up, disconnection of services, toll tag purchases and general information to our internal and external customers. In
addition, the program provides quality customer service through meter reading, maintenance and annual auditing of the meter
devices and field investigations. In conjunction with its other duties, the Water Department Program acts as the collection agency
for the City by collecting utility accounts receivables, returned items and write off accounts that are ninety days or older. The Water
Department Program reviews annually the water and sewer rates to aid in meeting the goal of a Financially Responsible City
Government.
GOALS
• To ensure the upkeep and reliability of the metering system. (Financial Stability)
• To ensure that water, sewer, garbage and other billed charges comply with City ordinances and reflect the cost of doing
business. (Financial Stability)
• To use all means available to collect payments due in a timely, efficient manner. (Financial Stability)
• To receive, count and deposit daily departmental collections on time and accurately. (Financial Stability)
• To communicate utility services and promote water conservation to customers verbally, on-line and through printed materials.
(Positive City Image)
OBJECTIVES
• Measure water usage on time and accurately.
• Bill customers in a timely, accurate manner.
• Perform annual analysis of rates and service charges by September 1st and make adjustments as needed to ensure fairness to
customers and recover costs of doing business.
• Annually inspect 3% of total meters to ensure accurate measurement of water distribution.
• Maintain 99.9% accuracy level on approximately 276,0000 bills and delinquency notices processed.
• Balance cash receipts to system postings on a daily basis to ensure that the payments collected from utility customers and City
departments are deposited in a timely, and accurate manner.
• Increase the number of electronic bill notifications and bank draft payments to reduce the total costs of utility billing.

2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
PERFORMANCE MEASURES ACTUAL REVISED ESTIMATED
Collections
Goal: Financial Stability
Number of collection representatives 2 2 2
Number of employees 3 3 3
Number of payments received 253,881 264,000 264,000
Number of returned utility payments 79 80 80
Cost of Collection Services $491,398 $586,156 $590,550
Cost per transaction $1.94 $2.22 $2.24
Number of returned payments recovered 76 75 75
% Of returned payments collected 96.00% 97.00% 97.00%
% Daily cash receipts balanced to system postings 98.00% 98.00% 98.00%

Public Education Program
Goal: Positive City Image
Cost of Public Education Program (Waterwise) $4,735.00 $5,340.00 $5,340.00
Number of students/teachers (BISD) 266 300 300
Cost per student/teacher for education program $17.80 $17.80 $17.80

Billings
Goal: Financial Stability
Number of billing representatives 3 3 3
Number of employees (FTEs) 4 4 4
Number of bills/delinquent notices printed annually 278,114 278,200 278,200

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