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CDS Global provides the city of Boone utility with an integrated solution that simplifies billing and payment processing, lowers costs and helps the city meet the changing needs of its customers. CDS Global’s turnkey process for printing and mailing the city’s utility bills and monthly newsletter frees up valuable city staff time while reducing expenses. In addition, the CDS Global solution allows the city’s utility department to offer the payment flexibility and convenience that customers have come to expect, increasing paper-to-electronic conversion of customer accounts in the process. Find out more: Integrated Payments YouTube Interview with City of Boone and CDS Global: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMbQIHNmr6c CDS Global Payments Resources: http://cds-global.com/solutions/payment-solutions/
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case study
Utility City of Boone
The central Iowa city of Boone, located 50 miles northwest of Des Moines, provides residents with water, sewer and storm water services.
CHALLENGEThe city’s utility billing department followed a manually intensive model that had remained unchanged for decades, and local officials recognized the growing problems associated with the time-consuming process. The department lost several days of staff time each month to bill printing, folding and mailing – often dealing with faulty equipment. “We needed our staff to focus on customer service and account maintenance, not folding and mailing bills,” says Luke Nelson, city administrator.
Staff members also spent substantial time processing mailed and walk-in utility payments and manually searching records when the system did not balance.
The inefficiency of the system was impacting more than staff time; it was increasing departmental costs and decreasing customer satisfaction. Customers were unable to access or change their account information or pay their bills online, which was driving calls to the billing department. The city also began falling behind on shut-offs for non-payment and account closures.
SOLUTIONSCDS Global provides the city of Boone with an integrated solution that simplifies billing and payment processing, lowers costs and helps the city meet the changing needs of its customers.
CDS Global’s turnkey process for printing and mailing the city’s utility bills and monthly newsletter frees up
CITY OF BOONE
923 8th Street
Boone, IA 50036http://boonegov.com
City of Boone
CDS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
�� ELECTRONIC CHECK PRESENTMENT�� INTEGRATED BILL PRESENTMENT & PAYMENT (IBPP)
�� MAILING SERVICES�� PAPER BILL PRESENTMENT
valuable city staff time while reducing expenses. In addition, the CDS Global solution allows the city’s utility department to offer the payment flexibility and convenience that customers have come to expect, increasing paper-to-electronic conversion of customer accounts in the process.
The integrated solution includes a secure website branded with the city’s logos and colors. Electronic statements are posted to the site as PDF documents, with email notifications sent to customers when a bill is ready for viewing. Customers can manage payments for multiple service accounts from a single login; set up recurring or automatic online payments using debit cards, credit cards and bank accounts; and receive electronic payment confirmations. The city of Boone receives a nightly data file that consolidates both paper and electronic payments for posting to their billing system. After payment application, balances and other updates are returned to CDS Global, which keeps customer data synchronized between the city and CDS Global. This process allows the city’s customer service representatives to view electronic payment activity and assist customers with their needs.
The city of Boone also relies on CDS Global for seamless and timely remittance and lockbox processing, as well as payment tracking. The solution aggregates payments originating from online banking and other bill pay services, allowing for easy detection of incorrect customer or city account information. Customer service representatives are able to submit
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REVISED: 12.18.13
a corrected entry to the system, targeting the incorrect account number for future matches to the correct account. This interaction avoids delays in depositing and reduces manual intervention.
For account reconciliation and management review, CDS Global provides robust reporting tools that deliver operational and financial transactions in both detail and summary views.
RESULTS“Transitioning to a turnkey billing and payment processing solution provides significant benefits for the city and its customers,” says Nelson. After the first six months of implementation, the City of Boone has seen significant cost savings and a tremendous public response to the new system.
At a meeting of the Boone City Council, officials announced a $2.3 million bond package, as well as the fact that the utility department was switching to online billing. The editor of the local newspaper posted both items on the paper’s Facebook page. “He called me the next day to say he hadn’t received a single comment on the bond election,” Nelson explains, “but off-the-charts positive response on the paperless billing announcement.”
Nelson expects to see adoption of online billing by 20 percent of customers through the first year of implementation, with significant cost savings expected to continually increase.
In addition to lower costs, increased convenience and higher customer satisfaction, Nelson praised the positive experience of working with CDS Global. “We get to work with all kinds of companies, from the people who clean City Hall to ones who sell fire trucks,” he says. “CDS Global, at every single level, has impressed us.”
Utility City of Boone
CDS Global, at every single level, has impressed us.
Luke NelsonCity AdministratorCity of Boone
