Customers attending Clarksdale Public Utilities meetings questioning their bills has been an ongoing issue.
CPU general manager Mark Johnson attempted to speed up the process of customers getting their questions answered by introducing a form for them to fill out providing basic information about their issue prior to speaking at a meeting. The board unanimously approved the form Johnson presented during the May 8 meeting.
CPU meetings are the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Board packets are finalized the Friday prior to the meeting. Customers must request to be on the agenda the Thursday prior to the meeting.
Johnson discussed what usually happens when a customer speaks during a meeting, noting in some cases they get on the agenda with no explanation.
“In the past, we’ve had situations where we’ve had to more or less walk through everything,” he said. “Of course, those coming only have five minutes (to speak). So, essentially, what we’re doing is providing all the information to the commissioners for the board meeting to have it right there.”
When customers complain about high bills, Johnson said the first part of the process is checking the meter readings to make sure it is correct.
“Sometimes, we check the meter to make sure that it is correct,” Johnson said.
CPU accounting and finance officer Steve Reed said the next step is to look at the history of the account. More often than not, he said with customers who have an issue about their bill and provide information when asking to be on the agenda, should have their issue resolved before the meeting. He did acknowledge cases can vary and some customers may still want to speak to the board.
“That’s very subjective,” Reed said. “Each case is different. It might be something that takes us 30 minutes to investigate or it might be something that takes a couple days. It depends on if there’s some type of water issue or an electric issue or if it’s just something if you’re reviewing records. It’s going to depend a lot on each individual situation. We hope, though, that, that (five days) would be enough time to get done.”
Board president Freddie Davis agreed customers may now have their issues solved and not need to attend meetings as often.
“We don’t want to stop anyone from coming to the board meeting, but what can happen is they should be taken care of in customer service, wherever they are, before it gets to us,” he said.
“They’ll come with a problem that could actually be addressed and solved before it gets to the board.”
Johnson also reported the automated metering infrastructure electronic meter reading should be complete by June 1. That will enable CPU to connect and disconnect customers and read meters remotely.
“We’ll have to send meter readers to the location to read the meters or to connect or disconnect the meters,” Johnson said.
Reed said the extra information from the AMI should also help CPU figure out what the issue is when a customer has a concern with a bill.
