Thursday, July 23, 2015

Jackson going to monthly billing for water/sewer

The city of Jackson just issued this press release:


CITY OF JACKSON to begin Implementation of new water billing system

New System Will Go Live Monday, August 31, 2015; Residents Will Be Billed Monthly

Residents will soon experience updates to their water billing as part of comprehensive upgrades the City of Jackson has initiated with Siemens through its water infrastructure improvement project. The Customer Care and Billing System (CC&B) implementation will provide the City with a modern software platform and enhanced management tools that will greatly improve the customer experience.

Key benefits of the new CC&B include increased efficiency of meter reading and water billing, eventual elimination of the need for estimated bills, and a reduced need for personnel to enter property. The system will also be able to track usage patterns, allowing the City to potentially detect leaks on a property through abnormal usage patterns. Implementation of the new system will occur in two phases. During Phase One, all customer accounts will be moved to the new system and reviewed to ensure that accounts were properly transitioned to the new platform before the CC&B’s broader capabilities are implemented. 

Following are the three key changes effective Monday, August 31:
·         Water bills will be sent MONTHLY (instead of every other month) for more timely information and more efficient budget management. Payments will be due on a monthly basis and bills paid through an automatic bank draft will be drafted every month.
·         Customers will have a NEW ACCOUNT NUMBER that will need to be used for payment to be processed.
·         The new bill format will be EASIER TO READ and provide more detailed account information.
During the initial installation period for the CC&B, the City may need to estimate bills every other month as it verifies the system upgrade. The estimated bills will be based on an average of actual consumption from prior billing periods, and will be identified on the bill with the abbreviation (EST) immediately after the reading. Once implementation is complete, bills will begin moving to the monthly cycle and eventually will be based on actual meter reads/consumption each month.

”The City of Jackson, Miss., is looking forward to a successful total implementation of this water infrastructure improvement program. Our expectations remain high with regard to providing beneficial technological advancements with minimal disruption to our water customers, while demonstrating superior customer service related to any and all issues which stem from the program fulfillment.  Customer care is not just a theme, but a top priority,” Public Works Director Kishia Powell.

Phase Two of the CC&B implementation is expected in late 2015, and will involve rolling out the system’s full capabilities so customers can experience the complete benefits of the system. This includes the ability to view water usage online, online payment options, and the ability to consolidate irrigation and residential water bills. Customers will be notified when these features are activated.

“We are proud of what is being accomplished through the City of Jackson’s water infrastructure improvement project,” said Dave Mangano, Sr. Vice President of Siemens’ North American-based Building Technologies Division. “Implementation of the new Customer Care & Billing System will enable the City to accurately track individual account usage for billing purposes, as well as monitor and evaluate community water demands and resources.” 

For more information on the CC&B implementation and the water infrastructure improvement project, please visit: www.jacksonms.gov/water.
Customers with specific concerns about their bill should contact the City’s Water and Sewer Business Administration Office at 601-960-2000.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh,this is going to go smoothly........

Anonymous said...

For the past year, my water bill has been unusually high, not as high as some who got the wrong meter, but high considering that I live alone and work 12 hours a day. I don't use that much water. My meter sits under 3 feet of water, something tells me there is a leak. I have followed up several times but no one has come to look at it. Last month I asked what would happen if I refused to pay my bill. They said someone would come turn it off. I asked her if, when he came to turn it off, he could check for a leak.

Anonymous said...

This will be a giant mess.

Anonymous said...

If you have a leak that is after the meter, it's your pipe and it is up to you to fix it. If you had a leak before the meter (that didn't make the meter run) then the city would fix it.

Anonymous said...

Readers of the blog may not realize how important water revenue is to the City of Jackson. A number of big users (read that big payers) have left the system in recent years including University Hospital, Baptist Hospital, St Dominic and now plans are in the works for CMMC (or whatever it is now called).

So no matter how Seimans is helping, the revenue will be down and the crisis will grow.

Anonymous said...

I can just imagine what their "estimates" will be. That's the time when they can fill their bank accounts up to makeup for lost revenue. Don't hold your breath waiting for a later credit, as they will fight it tooth and nail. Everyone get ready to file a class action lawsuit.

Anonymous said...

Where's the money going to come from to pay for the doubled postal fees? Take one guess.

Anonymous said...

How can the hospitals leave the system? Did they dig a well? Switch to Brawndo?

Anonymous said...

Looks like Dem Davey just got bent over by another Dem.

Anonymous said...

City of Jackson: Now over billing you faster than ever before!

Anonymous said...

@July 23, 2015 at 3:03 PM

Yep after the meter. Love paying $150-$200 every 2 months for a single family household.

Anonymous said...

while demonstrating superior customer service related to any and all issues which stem from the program fulfillment. Customer care is not just a theme, but a top priority,” Public Works Director Kishia Powell

If Customer Care is a top priority, does that mean that everything else is of a priority level such that it will be ignored?

I received my new water meter 1 year ago this month. It was the correct water meter and up until March of this year, my water bills were "normal". In March, my bill showed that my water meter that I had for over 6 months either turned over or did whatever to restart at zero. I got a bill reflecting that, asking me to pay for water/sewer I had already paid for, approx $700-$800 worth.

I contacted the Water Depart and have had not heard anything yet my bill still shows the $700-$800 discrepancy.

Is that what is considered top priority customer service?

Anonymous said...

3:12, UMC has been on their own supply for ages - at least since the late nineties, probably much longer. They still have to pay for sewage treatment.

Anonymous said...

Hope we get moved out of Jackson before 9/1/15!

Anonymous said...

The warnings about estimated bills is because they know in advance that the wireless data collection from the new meters is going to be a major fiasco.

Anonymous said...

THEY ARE JACKSON !!!

And they can't find the leak.

But sure as heck Stamps and others on the City Council want to bring more work in house.

ROFLMAO

Anonymous said...

I'm outside the city limits but receive my water through Jxn.....selling home and moving further out!!!!!!

Mrs. Eastover said...

Hello from the future: The year is now 2022. I know all of you simps from 2015 won't believe me when I tell you. It is going to get way worse before it gets better... and it may never get better.. #ThanksChokwe #LetsGoBrandon



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