1 Smart Ways To Use Billing Innovations To Better Serve Your Customers Elie J. Boudreaux III, P.E. - Director of Utilities Fort Pierce Utilities Authority 206 South Sixth Street, Fort Pierce, Florida APPA National Conference June 20, 2005

2 Fort Pierce Utilities Authority Mission Statement “To provide our customers with economical and friendly service in a continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in our community.”

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4 Online Services Timeline  August General website up and running  Early Preliminary testing of program, with employees, yielded good results  September Online services officially opened to the public, collecting payments via credit card  August Online checks became available Online Services Timeline

5 Online Billing Services  Ability to Access Account Online  View current bill information as pie chart

6 Online Billing Services  Ability to Access Account Online  Check account balances  Check billing history

7 Online Billing Services  Ability to Access Account Online  Check payment history  Review current bill

8 Online Billing Services  Ability to Access Account Online  Make payments – by credit card or check  Manage several accounts under one login

9 Online Billing Services  Ability to Access Account Online  View consumption summary information and graphs (very favorable customer feedback)  No charge for online services at this time

10 Other Customer Services  Application for utility connections & disconnections  Payment options  Form to report tampering of utility services

11 Other Customer Services  Account service forms  Instructions on how to read your meter and bill  Feedback area for comments and questions

12 Customer Reactions  Website receives 120 unique hits per day  20% of the website traffic is for online services  The remainder of the hits:  27% — Find a Job  16% — Inside FPUA  15% — Community  14% — My Home  8% — My Business

13 Online Payment Statistics  Online System Users  1780 Residential  625 Commercial  Almost 10,000 payments made online since the program's inception

14 Customer Service Goals & Major Objectives  Ensure customer information is secure:  Unique user name  Password and registration required  Confirmation by CSR, with verification ed back to customer  Credit card information is not kept on the website  Provide information that enhances our customer’s experience  Provide value to our community  Ensure customer requests for service are forwarded to the appropriate department in a prompt, effective, and professional manner

15 Customer Service Goals & Major Objectives  Coordinate with all other departments to provide optimum performance of services with minimal inconvenience to the customer  Generate and maintain reliable records of customer services and payments received  Develop and implement credit and collection policies, which benefit and serve the customer while meeting FPUA's objectives  Market and sell additional products and services

16 Additional Capabilities In New Cogsdale Customer Service Management System  New online accounts approved much faster than the current 1 to 2 days  notification if online account customer falls into penalty phase  reminders of approaching due dates to online account customers  Budget Billing for all customers

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