One method to pay Albany water and sewer bills: The drop box at City Hall. No password needed.
Albany’s city utilities have started using a new software billing system, and the change apparently has not been entirely smooth.
“City utility bills will be delayed over the next few weeks as we fully transition to the new software,” City Manager Peter Troedsson told council members in his weekly report Friday. “We’ll be adjusting bill due dates and working with customers during this period to minimize service disruptions.”
The change affects water and sewer customers who have been paying their bills electronically.
The new system is now online. Troedsson described it this way:
“This new system by Util360 offers an online portal where customers can access statement details, quick pay, set up autopay by credit card or e-check, sign up for paperless statements, manage notifications, and view reports…Â Staff continue to add guides and frequently asked questions, and post service updates as we work on the finishing touches in the new system.”
City spokesman Matt Harrington told me the new system has features people had been asking for but were not available in the previous software, which had been used for two or three decades.
About 7,000 of the city’s roughly 22,000 utility customers were using the system to make payments of water and sewer bills. (The bills also include a stormwater charge and the city’s monthly service fee.)
Harrington asked customer service employees at the City Hall utility counter what people were having trouble with in the new system.
“The number one issue is that account numbers have changed between systems, but folks seem to be skipping that step,” he told me in an email. “Before setting up an account in the new system, customers will need to find their new account number using their old account number and their mailing ZIP code. Old account numbers and passwords will not work in the new system.”
People having trouble with this have my sympathy, especially when I read that setting up a new account requires a “complex password.”
If something requires a password, I would just as soon give it a miss because chances are I’ll forget the password and resetting it is too much trouble.
Our utility bills come in the mail, and when they come I send back a check. I know that’s antediluvian, but it works. And no password is required. (hh)
The problem is they never told us this was coming down the pike! I kept looking for my bill to arrive and the usual due date (the 5th of every month) came and went and we didn’t know if the mail lost it or what. I only learned what was going on when I eventually went to the city website and found out. Maybe it was announced in the Democrat Herald in which case most people don’t get it anymore.
I’m with you Hasso. Get the bill and pay it. I finally got my bill yesterday, 2 weeks later than normal. Check was in the mail today.
1.What does this new software do that the software wouldn’t.
2. WHY?
3 Name ANY of the last of 3 software upgrades that didn’t have problems?
4. Since you know our account numbers, WHY IN THE HELL CAN’T YOU FIX THAT? Laziness/incompetence?
I tried the new system following directions and am now totally locked out. Their answer was to call in to them to pay your bill! 7000 users spending HOW MUCH TIME? Do you have staff and a phone system to handle that.
Peter Troedsson has got to go!
” I know that’s antediluvian, but it works.”
Antediluvian! Brought back fond memories of Rocky and Bullwinkle!
I like this comment.
Ok, I can understand why a new program might be needed. But the runout was poor. First indication was an email out of the blue. Got my new account number and tried to set up a new profile. Process was not working right- what should’ve taken a few minutes took 15 and a call to the city. First the captcha timed out in about 15 seconds while I was trying to select a password; so had to start over. Then there is no pop-up box.that told me an authorization code had been sent to my email. (Usually with an email or text) So
I tried to sign in and got an error, since I didn’t have the number. So then again and got another error since it was waiting for the first number. Also the emails with the confirmation number took about 10 minutes to come in. Finally called the city and got snarky comments back. Told them about the problems I had just trying to set up an account, and their reply was that they were not computer programmers. So they didn’t care that there were issues with their program. Overall the rollout was poor and Customer Support was, well, not supportive! And we still don’t see a bill for this month on the site!
And yes, I am sending this same info to the city.
And the system is probably giving us more information than we could possibly want in a lifetime!
Many thanks for the clarification Hasso!
I, for one, am horrified by the fact that my water/sewer bill has yet to arrive. I do so look forward each month, eagerly awaiting the trusty post that informs me as to how much water I consumed and how much waste I contributed to the Common Sewage Good. With this latest problem, I must now be forced to wait for the arrival of my bill, all the while my anxiety levels rise at trepidascious levels. Can someone do something soon?
This is the kind of projects the city tortures us with. Pestering the residents that pay their bills with unnecessary problematic computer updates, businesses that will not help increase wages (I am sure the pawn shop pays low wages as do all the expensive restaurants) and put in stop light surveillance cameras. Meanwhile the homeless shoot up drugs, trash the city, steal and defecate everywhere whenever with funding to maintain this lifestyle and we drive on more potholes than street. Oh and add miscellaneous fees to property taxes and utility bills, the cherry on top!
^^^ NAILED IT…!! ^^^
Today I was able to actually get registered.
I noticed a BIG RED BOX that I certainly didn’t notice before.
My bill was 2X what I expected, and took awhile to realize they ARE SO SCREWED UP, THEY TOTALLY SKIPPED a month! So they’ve basically had 2 months of this fiasco.
I sure wish we had a City Manager that worked for Albany, instead of constantly trying to make other cities look better than us.
All are good reasons why I pay by mail…computers are really not our friends.
I remember being told that technology would make our life easier.
NOT !!!!
And it certainly has. Too bad we have so many idiots that don’t know how to implement it properly. Think of all the various forms of medical imaging that has certainly saved lives.
Apparently the old software didn’t have enough avenues to add additional “City Fees”.
I also had a minor “glitch.” But it was 100% *MY* fault because I couldn’t follow the basic instructions as to how to acquire my new account number. I sure cannot blame it on the software or “rollout.” Once I got my new account number, it was very easy to set it all up – including the autopay process…
And WHEN did you do this.
Their website is not the same today as 2 days ago!
Why would they admit to me in today’s email that it was their fault and that they DID double bill me.
About 3-4 days after site opened. As I stated, once I followed the instructions, all went Well…
After being in an industry where computer conversions and updates were relatively often, I actually sympathize with them in getting through this process. BUT, I have just spent about 45 minutes getting set up. I am pretty techy, but it was a bit of a slog to do it. I ultimately got there with finding my new account number, setting up the account, and finally getting auto pay set up (their previous system did not allow me to set up ACH from my bank account without mailing in a voided check which was incredibly old-fashioned). The website is nice! A lot of good information in a pleasant visual format. Let’s just hope another fee won’t be added to our bills for this upgrade. Although somebody has to pay for it, right?
Exactly what USEFUL things does the new system have that justifies this boondoogle? You know this isn’t cheap.
There is nothing they can glean from a voided check that you couldn’t send in an email. Attach a picture if necessary.
I hope that when they do the the new billing that they follow ORS 860-036-1400 (5) (b) and give us 15 days to pay our bill instead of 10 or less.