Page 224 - HurstFY23AnnualBudget

APPROVED BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023

gives the customer more time to take care of their account because they are not waiting
for a piece of mail to arrive via the USPS.
✓ Began offering surety bonds to customers that have accounts requiring large cash
deposits. This covers the city in case of customer default and negates the need for
customers to provide large cash deposits freeing up funds for them to use to improve
their business operations.
✓ Redesigned the Utility Billing city webpage making it easier to read, navigate and find the
information needed by visitors.
✓ Created online applications for both residential and commercial accounts and the ability

for customers to pay their deposits online.
✓ Installed scanners on each UB staffs desk allowing them to attach scanned documents to
customers’ accounts rather than filing those documents in a cabinet. This increases the
staff’s ability to provide excellent customer service when they have this information
instantly available to them when speaking to a customer needing assistance on the phone
or in person.
✓ Completed a meter route resequencing project at the request of meter reading staff. This
reordered the sequence in which meters are listed in the tablet for meter readers in a
way that was more efficient in the field. Previous to this they may have had to make

unnecessary detours to read meters that were out of sequence.
✓ Increased the amount of deposit required for a temporary construction meter from
$1,000 to $5,000. This would cover the cost of a lost or damaged meter currently at
$2,500 plus any water that was used and not paid by the customer.
✓ Began securing temporary construction meters to fire hydrants and obtaining reads via
meter readers rather than requiring construction companies the ability to carry these
meters to other jurisdictions and using water illegally. Construction companies also no
longer need to physically bring these meters to the utility billing office for the purpose of
obtaining a read.
✓

FUTURE INITIATIVES

➢ Establish agreement with the City of Fort Worth allowing our customers to utilize their
Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) offered through the Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA).
➢ Continue to update and finalize new Policies and Procedures Manual.
➢ Begin project to identify how to consolidate multiple customer accounts onto one
statement. Currently, customers with multiple meters receive one statement per meter.

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