The presentation was given by Dave Allen, CEO of SL-serco Inc and consultant with the City of Aledo about utility billing; Ammar Plumber, city of Aledo’s management consultant; and Bob Perialas, senior project manager of Brio Consulting LLC.
Perialas addressed the main concerns that the audit brought up in regard to the billing process, especially in relation to Aledo residents.
“The audit found that while the systems and metering and functionality were sound, we lack documented procedures and consistent practices,” Perialas said. “These gaps contributed to billing confusion and delays and these policies address that by setting clear guidelines and points of accountability.”
With these issues in mind, Perialas explained the eight key policies that were featured in the ordinance:
Allen explained how, through the new policies outlined in the resolution, they were able to see improvement in the utility billing and metering system. According to him, not only would billing procedures be addressed, but also proactive leak detection to save water and money, sustainable infrastructure ready for growth, and then to be able to bring the response to customers in a timely and effective fashion.
“Every major item that was identified in the audit has been directly addressed with measurable improvements, and that’s what I’d like to share today,” Allen said.
Some metrics of this improvement was how instead of 45 calls a day regarding utility billing, it has gone down to five calls a day, the initial eight percent of billing error reported has gone down to 2.5 percent, and also the replacement of outdated meters with new automated ones that would help mitigate human error in readings and now has 100 percent coverage of the system.
Another thing that was streamlined, Allen said, was the procedures for the staff which went from 5,100 manual tasks now down to 317.
The new customer portal online and in the app was also addressed in regard to how it helped with customer service.
Allen said the most important thing he wanted to address in regard to communication was building trust with the residents of Aledo, so they know why their bill is the amount that it is.
“Reliable infrastructure and predictable maintenance, transparent operations, building citizen trust, efficient processes requiring much less staff, and data driven decisions for resource allocation,” Allen said, summarizing the first presentation. “We’re in a much more strategic focused position now based on the decisions that were put into place before.”
Plumber followed Allen and focused on the Key Performance Indicators, such as financial performance, specifically in relation to unpaid accounts. Plumber said that out of all active accounts, 12 percent are unpaid, and that the water shutoff process hasn’t been in effect, but now it will start again.
“We’re trying to put a plan in place for when we can begin cutoffs again to hopefully get delinquent accounts squared away,” he said.
The other metrics he explained were in alerts on the metering infrastructure which helps monitor leaks in the system, negative consumption, manual read volumes, and finally contextual information such as typical water usage at certain points in time.
“These are what’s currently reportable from our systems and we’re able to track on a regular basis, right now it’s scripted but sort of semi-automated,” Plumber said. “We’re hoping to get this so that it will collect on an ongoing basis by itself without any staff intervention, and then we’re also hoping to expand the scope of these as we solidify our systems around utility billing.”
Council member Shawna Ford complimented their work, especially regarding the app and said how it has helped her keep track of specific water usage in her house.
“I also have my alert set and it provides interesting conversations for my husband and myself when we argue about watering,” Ford said. “They were able to tell me there was one day that shot up and so they were able to tell me exactly what time that water was used, which was very helpful in identifying the culprit.”
The ordinance to adopt the new policies was passed unanimously.
Ice rink approved
Along with the utility billing presentation, the council also was given a presentation by Weber regarding the purchase of the ice rink for Christmas Tyme in Aledo for a second year in a row, which was approved.
Weber began her presentation by describing a winter wonderland that Aledo’s downtown would become, with the ice rink in the center of it all.
“For four beautiful weeks, it turned our town into something that felt straight out of a Hallmark movie. Sparkling, joyful, and full of community spirit,” she said. “And last year, the ice rink played a vital role in bringing that magic to life, helping establish Aledo as a true holiday destination, not just for our residents, but for families from across the region.”
Along with a highlight reel she presented during the meeting, she also brought the owner of Ice Stars — the company who provides the ice rink — Pierre Panayi so he could explain how the ice rink performed last year versus how it would perform this year if the purchase was approved.
The rink is funded through the Economic Development Corporation fund, which is a nonprofit entity created to promote economic growth and development for the city. The estimated cost of the rink and additional expenditures is slightly more than $200,000.
The main issue that was addressed was how the ice rink didn’t break even in cost versus profit. Panayi explained that due to inclement weather, including rainy days and above-average temperatures, the rink was not open for as many days as was anticipated. This issue along with the short time that was provided for the city to find sponsors of the event last year overall led to a negative financial outcome, he said.
Weber said that, if this purchase is approved, she would begin the next Monday to start finding as many sponsorships as possible to help bring that revenue up to hopefully break even this year.
“That means recruiting more sponsors earlier,” she said. “The rink provides amazing exposure for local businesses and I’m already hearing folks tell me that they want their sign on the rink this year. I am also sensing that local businesses and businesses moving in the area are hungry to sponsor our events.”
Along with these sponsorships, she wants to push for private ice events, repeat programming, and performances to encourage returning patrons.
Along with the ice rink itself, a weatherproof canopy was also approved for the ice rink, which would help mitigate the issues of weather-related closures from last year.
The rink will be in the same place it was last year in Downtown Aledo, and outgoing city manager Noah Simon talked about how, while safety is paramount, he believes that they were over cautious, and they would be able to reduce the cost from adjusting the amount of manpower and equipment to better suit the needs that last year showed.
Council member Summer Jones said she appreciated the amount of work Weber put into the presentation and thinks this ice rink is great for bringing the community together and for bringing in people from around the region.
“I think this can really define our city, and I’m most pleased with hearing the age ranges of people that attended because there’s very few activities that you can do with a three-year-old and an 80-year-old,” Jones said. “So, I think this is a great family event and I loved hearing that it draws people from all over the Metroplex.”
Other items of business
Along with the presentations, the council passed the consent agenda in full, passed an ordinance for a voluntary annexation of land, and considered two petitions regarding the release of land to the city.
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