Page 85 - Yucaipa Valley Water District

Director Memorandum 18-107

Date: July 17, 2018

Prepared By: Allison M. Edmisten, Chief Financial Officer

Subject: Implementation of a New Customer Utility Billing Portal and Payment
Platform

Recommendation: That the Board authorize the General Manager to execute a contract
with Xpress Bill Pay.

On October 3, 2017, [DM 17-092], the Board of Directors authorized the General Manager to
execute a contract with Paymentus to provide customers the freedom to access billing and
payment information anytime, anywhere from any device. After the contract with Paymentus was
signed in November 2017, Paymentus was unable to connect its electronic bill payment services
and payment processing gateway to the District in spite of the continuous efforts of the District to
enable Paymentus to do so. On June 8, 2018 a Notice of Termination was issued to Paymentus.

On June 12, 2018, [DM 18-092], the Board of Directors authorized the General Manager to
execute an agreement with Caselle, Inc. for software services to replace our current system that
handles our utility billing, general ledger, payroll, etc. Xpress Bill Pay is a payment processing
vendor that works closely with Caselle, Inc. to provide the same type of services that District staff
initially explored with Paymentus.

The specific elements of the proposed system include:
• IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – provides customers the ability to make automated
phone payments at any time.
• Self-Service Customer Portal – allows customers to view their account, manage their
online billing and payment settings, access payment histories, view and pay multiple
accounts and manage their paperless settings.
• Mobile Friendly Website – allows customers to access the website via a smartphone or
tablet
• App through Apple Store – allows customers to access their account via an app rather
than utilizing the website. The Android app is currently in development.

Financial Consideration

Yucaipa Valley Water District currently absorbs the customer service fees as detailed in DM 17-
058. The monthly service fee for Xpress Bill Pay is $19.00 per month as well as a support hosting
fee for online customers of $0.015. The transaction fees range from $0.20 to $0.95 depending
on type of payment processed (credit/debit card, EFT or e-check, online banking or IVR payment).
The 2018-19 approved budget includes a line item for convenience fees in the amount of $30,000
[GL # 02-5-06-54013].

Yucaipa Valley Water District - July 17, 2018 - Page 83 of 94