Receive the report Utility Billing Project Status and Customer Accounts By-law update. That the Utility Billing and Collections Customer Accounts by-law…

3:52:36Okay, why don't we get our presentations going?

3:52:41I think we have James coming up.

3:52:51Thank you, Chair Chew, Council Mayor.

3:52:54We're here today to talk about the utility billing

3:52:56and collections project and update council.

3:53:01We recall back in 2021,

3:53:08a lecturer advised us that they would no longer

3:53:11be completing water billing on behalf of the city of Guelph.

3:53:15In October of 24, we brought forward to council

3:53:19direction to bring utility billing in-house.

3:53:24That was aligned with the city's strategic vision

3:53:28and ensuring cost efficiency, customer experience,

3:53:34leveraging existing technology,

3:53:36and also to ensure a smooth transition.

3:53:42I'm gonna now introduce Michelle Hesslip,

3:53:44manager, supervisor of utility billing and collections

3:53:50to finish the presentation.

3:53:56Hello, I'm gonna talk about the current status

3:54:00of the project.

3:54:02So the city is currently transitioning water billing

3:54:04and collections in-house using central square technologies,

3:54:08CST, the utility billing system.

3:54:11It's currently being used for the property tax billing

3:54:14and collections, as well as our online customer portal.

3:54:17So we found that the integration speech

3:54:18between those systems would be extremely beneficial to us.

3:54:22So currently staff are in the process of implementation,

3:54:24data validation, and training on the new utility billing

3:54:28system to support our in-house billing and collections team.

3:54:33The in-house billing and billing cutover has been set

3:54:37for the end of May, 2026.

3:54:40As of right now, staff are working diligently

3:54:42with a lecture to tax roll any outstanding water rears

3:54:45on the lecture accounts, just to reduce the overall rears

3:54:49balance prior to that cutover of May, 2026.

3:54:52So collecting these outstanding amounts for services

3:54:55already provided is essential to ensure financial stability

3:54:58and maintain affordable rates for all customers.

3:55:01Once this process becomes in-house,

3:55:04we will have a much more streamlined process

3:55:06for timely collections on any unpaid balances.

3:55:11So in regards to communications,

3:55:13with this transition information regarding the transition

3:55:18of water billing from a lecture to the city,

3:55:21has now been, it's now being communicated to the public

3:55:24through bill messages, bill inserts,

3:55:27and our website information.

3:55:29So I have some samples of the current communications

3:55:32on the websites right now.

3:55:33So this one right here is the Electra website.

3:55:37So it's just a very general statement about what's coming

3:55:41in the summer of 2026, and it allows

3:55:44electric customers to take a look to see what's

3:55:47going to be happening with their electricity bill,

3:55:49as well as that water bill transition to the city of Guelph.

3:55:52And on there, it just gives a direct link to our website,

3:55:55which also provides some general information

3:55:58to our customers as well as to what's going on.

3:56:02If you want to switch to our website,

3:56:05and if just scroll down a little bit there, there's a button.

3:56:09So coming summer of 2026,

3:56:10your water bill will come from the city.

3:56:12So this is just a first look at communications

3:56:17out to the public.

3:56:18It's very general, and as we move forward,

3:56:20it will be a lot more in depth.

3:56:23And then back to that presentation.

3:56:25Thank you.

3:56:26So staff have developed this communications plan

3:56:29to ensure customers are aware of the upcoming changes

3:56:32to their water billing, and we are working directly

3:56:34with Electra on that.

3:56:36In addition to the communication with the public today,

3:56:40bringing this presentation to council

3:56:42to provide some context and insight ahead of what is upcoming,

3:56:46and just offering a preview of what's anticipated in 2026.

3:56:53One of the major things that will be coming in 2026

3:56:55is the customer accounts bylaw.

3:56:58So the previous water and wastewater customer accounts

3:57:00bylaw designates Electra as our billing agent.

3:57:04So that would have to be repealed

3:57:06as it's no longer applicable

3:57:08following the in-house transition.

3:57:10The new customer accounts bylaw is coming to council

3:57:13for approval in early 26 to provide the authority

3:57:16for in-house activities and set the framework

3:57:19for our utility billing and collections.

3:57:21The new bylaw will be applicable to all properties

3:57:24that receive water, wastewater, and storm water services.

3:57:30In addition, or including included in this bylaw

3:57:34would be user fees.

3:57:35So these fees are charged directly

3:57:37to the requesting account holder that required action

3:57:40and are designed to recover the cost of providing the service.

3:57:45These user fees ensure that the cost

3:57:47of the individual service requests

3:57:48are borne by the requesting customer

3:57:51rather than being distributed across all account holders.

3:57:54Some examples of some user fees

3:57:56would be a change of occupancy.

3:57:57So when a customer moves in and out of their property,

3:57:59there would be a fee to process that transaction

3:58:03or that those changes.

3:58:06Additionally, a request of utility certificates

3:58:08showing the balance on water accounts

3:58:10at the time of the property purchase and sale.

3:58:13Unpaid water charges transferred

3:58:15to the property tax account.

3:58:17Payments that are rejected or returned

3:58:19from financial institutions and fees for any appointments

3:58:23that were scheduled for water meter activity

3:58:26if they didn't show up.

3:58:32In the bylaw, there's going to be some legislation.

3:58:34That legislation comes from the Municipal Act,

3:58:37specifically sections 391, 398, and 446

3:58:41to establish billing for services

3:58:43provided to the properties.

3:58:45It also states legislation and authority

3:58:47for collecting arrears through transfers

3:58:48to property tax through section 398 in,

3:58:51as well as the Ontario regulation.

3:58:54Additionally, consequences for non-compliance

3:58:56of the customer accounts bylaw are going to be outlined

3:59:00and they include enforcement and fines

3:59:02that are already aligned with our current bylaw in place,

3:59:05which regulates the supply of water in the city of Guelph.

3:59:11So just our framework of the customer accounts bylaw,

3:59:14so we've identified some efficiencies

3:59:16in having only property owners hold the water account.

3:59:19With the transition into in-house billing

3:59:21and collection staff are proposing

3:59:23that tenant accounts be phased out.

3:59:25How we're going to do that is when there is a change

3:59:27in occupancy or upon request, a new account

3:59:30will be set up in the name of the property owner.

3:59:33There will be options for a duplicate copy of a bill

3:59:36subject to additional fee, and that's mostly in place

3:59:39for tenant and landlord relationships.

3:59:42This change would ensure transparency for property owners

3:59:45who are legally responsible for any water billing arrears.

3:59:52Additionally, with the transition in-house,

3:59:55we are billing and collecting on stormwater.

3:59:58So following the transition of billing

4:00:00and collection in-house, the city will continue

4:00:02to impose fees and charges on residents

4:00:04for the stormwater services and activities

4:00:06as outlined in the schedule of a bylaw 2023-208-39.

4:00:12These fees and charges will be billed monthly

4:00:14to property owners, along with their water,

4:00:16wastewater and other charges.

4:00:18So the amendment to the bylaw is simply

4:00:21to ensure clarity and transparency.

4:00:23And it just confirms that monthly billing

4:00:25is calculated based on a 30-day month.

4:00:30And that concludes my presentation.

4:00:32Thank you.

4:00:35Okay, thank you.

4:00:37Let's put the recommendation on the floor.

4:00:40Yeah, Councillor Allt, seconded by...

4:00:45Yeah, no problem.

4:00:47Is there a seconder for this?

4:00:48Yeah.

4:00:49Councillor Boosterhill, okay.

4:00:51Why don't we go with Councillor Allt first?

4:00:53Thank you very much.

4:00:54Two questions.

4:00:55One, I don't know whether Mr. Crowder can comment on this,

4:00:59but I think it was with him I was talking

4:01:01when a resident called me,

4:01:03discovering that the resident owner

4:01:05of a property didn't live there,

4:01:07discovered that he slash she had a $4,000 water bill.

4:01:12I'm really happy with the customer accounts bylaw framework.

4:01:16I think that clarifies what can happen

4:01:19when essentially a scoff law leaves a property

4:01:22and leaves an owner.

4:01:23And I was wondering if you could...

4:01:25Leaves an owner hanging for a cost of water.

4:01:27I was wondering if you could comment on that.

4:01:28Is that an acute issue that the city has to deal with?

4:01:37Through Chair Chew to Councillor Allt.

4:01:40It's an issue that is prevalent all across Ontario.

4:01:43And legislation allows for the transfer of utility arrears

4:01:49supplied to a particular property,

4:01:52water, wastewater, stormwater, to the tax account.

4:01:56And it's not unique in Guelph.

4:02:00The uniqueness in Guelph right now

4:02:02is that we have a third party billing entity

4:02:05that is billing for us.

4:02:06And when we bring that in-house,

4:02:10our transparency to the property owner

4:02:12with bills going out directly to the property owner

4:02:14will increase and our timeliness for collections

4:02:17will also increase.

4:02:18Thank you for that.

4:02:19And that leads to the next question,

4:02:21which was a comment that was made about water,

4:02:25wastewater and other charges.

4:02:27What are those other charges?

4:02:29Are they things like arrears?

4:02:30Is that what we're referring to?

4:02:34So stormwater would be one of those other charges.

4:02:38Similarly, there are miscellaneous charges

4:02:41on the water side, for instance,

4:02:44for missed meter redea or meter replacement charges,

4:02:48et cetera, so those types of charges.

4:02:51Thank you very much.

4:02:52I really didn't know what we were talking about.

4:02:56Okay, Mayor Guthrie.

4:02:58Okay, thanks, Chair, and through you.

4:03:01I'm just wondering about,

4:03:03maybe my colleagues will agree with me, I don't know,

4:03:05but this is like so administrative in nature, right?

4:03:08Like it's kind of like, we have to do this, right?

4:03:11Like there's no choice.

4:03:14So I'm just kind of wondering why,

4:03:17like how is this coming back to us in Q1 of next year?

4:03:21I understand we have to change bylaws.

4:03:23You need counsel vote to change bylaws, I get that.

4:03:26But can it just be like a bylaw at the end of an agenda

4:03:30that we just vote on?

4:03:33Why does it need to come back,

4:03:35like as a report or something like that?

4:03:37And if there's valid reasons why it does need to come back,

4:03:40is that I'll take that.

4:03:42Well, I'm sure we'll take that,

4:03:43but I just, I'm just wondering why,

4:03:46how are you wanting to bring it back to us next year?

4:03:48Were you thinking of an actual report?

4:03:50And because this is just all so administrative in nature,

4:03:54I just feel like we could just delegate this to you

4:03:59to implement.

4:04:03Through Chair Chew to Mayor Guthrie.

4:04:06Great question.

4:04:10One of the reasons we're doing these public staff reports

4:04:14is to inform the public also along the process.

4:04:19It is very administrative in nature, you're correct.

4:04:24And we will take that comment back

4:04:26and look to see how we go about bringing that bylaw forward

4:04:30in Q1.

4:04:31It may just come as an attachment at the end of the agenda.

4:04:36It may also come with information report also prior to that,

4:04:41just to update council as well as the public

4:04:45on the status of the process.

4:04:48Okay, thank you.

4:04:50Chair DeMarva, I just have a quick comment then.

4:04:52Thank you.

4:04:54You know, this sort of a whole issue arose a couple of years ago,

4:05:00kind of a little bit out of the blue, right?

4:05:01So not only Guelph, but the other shareholders

4:05:06were all sort of caught with this issue.

4:05:09And I think everyone understood why it was happening.

4:05:13The line of business that Electra was in is not this business.

4:05:16And so from their financial obligations

4:05:19and running their business, we understood it.

4:05:23But it was definitely complicated.

4:05:26And it was, I just wanna acknowledge and recognize

4:05:30like you and the staff and others behind the scenes

4:05:33that have had to, you know, boom,

4:05:36this is kind of on your desk, right?

4:05:39And it's taken a while to wade through all of this

4:05:42to get to this point.

4:05:43And as administrative in nature as it is,

4:05:46it really did take a long time to sort of figure out

4:05:50the best route forward.

4:05:51And I think you've landed at a really good spot

4:05:54on how this is going to move forward.

4:05:56And even though it's quite,

4:05:57I would say like technical in nature billing,

4:06:01you've married it with this customer service side of it

4:06:05as well that I think is brilliant as you move forward.

4:06:09I just wanna really recognize that.

4:06:12And then finally, it's to comment on what councillor

4:06:15all brought up, which I wanted to bring up as well.

4:06:17I think all of us are getting some calls recently

4:06:23of some members of the public that are landlords

4:06:27that are waking up to councillor Aldous right.

4:06:31I had a lady last week, $4,500.

4:06:36Okay, $4,500.

4:06:38Most of them are in like the 1,000 to $1,500 range.

4:06:42And I just wanted to say this out loud.

4:06:46There is the ability,

4:06:48because I'm now very knowledgeable on this,

4:06:51there is the ability under the provincial government

4:06:54through the landlord and tenant act,

4:06:55I think it's called an N10, am I correct?

4:06:59An L10, sorry, an L10,

4:07:02which the province changed in the last little while

4:07:04to allow sort of tenants and landlords to be able to try

4:07:09and well, especially for the landlords

4:07:12to be able to try to get some of that, that arrears back.

4:07:16The other issue is that at the end of the day,

4:07:19it is quite a civil matter.

4:07:21Like it's a civil matter between a landlord and a tenant.

4:07:25And so we at the city are sort of,

4:07:29we're out of that end, we're not in that lane, right?

4:07:32And anything in regards to landlord tenant issues

4:07:35is all under the province.

4:07:36And so I just, I think I speak on behalf of all of council

4:07:40here, the empathy is massive from all of us that,

4:07:43of people, including staff,

4:07:44that find out that these issues have arisen,

4:07:49but our staff have looked into it.

4:07:52There is the ability, as I said, on the civil side

4:07:55or on the landlord and tenant board side

4:07:56for people to address it.

4:07:58And the last thing is, is that in looking at this

4:08:01through staff's help and some citizen's help too,

4:08:05it's what we're doing is already best practice

4:08:08across the entire province.

4:08:10Like Guelph is not an outlier at all on this issue,

4:08:14as bad as it is for those people that wake up to those issues.

4:08:18And I just wanted to chair and to council just to say that

4:08:22all the sort of out loud,

4:08:23just to sort of make sure it was in the public realm

4:08:25that we understand how difficult that would be for sure.

4:08:30I'd freak out too, we all would,

4:08:33but there is ways outside of sort of the municipality

4:08:36to be able to try to address those.

4:08:39And so I appreciate that.

4:08:40And yeah, happy to support all this work that you've done.

4:08:43And hopefully we can just sort of wrap it up next year,

4:08:46then when you come back to us.

4:08:48Okay, Councillor Cain.

4:08:51Thank you, through you chair.

4:08:54So my understanding is that the landlord's

4:08:56gonna get the main bill.

4:08:59So are there, I know this is not necessarily us

4:09:03is potentially provincial,

4:09:04but is there something that we can point renters to?

4:09:09Cause how do they know that they're being charged

4:09:11the correct amount for their water usage

4:09:14if they're not getting a bill for their own usage?

4:09:22So through chair Chew to Councillor Cain,

4:09:26that would be covered within the landlord tenant agreement

4:09:32and what is required from a perspective of

4:09:35whether the utilities would be included within the rent,

4:09:40or separate, and that's a contractual obligation

4:09:42between the landlord and the tenant.

4:09:46So they would have to deal with it through their landlord

4:09:50and find out if they've got their stuff individually metered.

4:09:56Through chair Chew, correct.

4:10:00Okay, thank you.

4:10:04Okay, I'm just gonna provide a few quick comments.

4:10:08Oh, and Councillor Billings.

4:10:11Yes.

4:10:12So through you, Mr. Chair, I just have a quick question

4:10:16because I didn't see this.

4:10:19So this was in the last report,

4:10:21it talked about some of the costs for this transition.

4:10:28And so I was wondering, I think it was,

4:10:30and who cares if I don't have the exact numbers,

4:10:34but I think it was around 700,000.

4:10:36So I'm not talking capital, just operating around 700,000.

4:10:41So are we still in that ballpark

4:10:43or in the report with the financial implications?

4:10:46Are we going over that as far as the operating financial

4:10:52implications are concerned with this transition?

4:10:58Through chair Chew, the Councillor Billings, great question.

4:11:02As we continue to roll out the go live

4:11:06that will be occurring in June,

4:11:07we're looking at ways to continue to mitigate

4:11:10the additional costs with regards

4:11:12to bringing utility billing in-house.

4:11:15The largest cost is that of postage.

4:11:18So previously we shared postage with Electra for every bill

4:11:22and the delivery of those bills.

4:11:24We now bore that main cost solely on ourselves.

4:11:30So we will be working at ways to convince

4:11:36and entice property owners to sign up for e-billing

4:11:41and other services such as that that increase efficiencies.

4:11:45So at this time, that estimate of 700,000 still stands,

4:11:50but we are working at all possible ways to mitigate that.

4:11:55So that's good because actually that was going to be

4:11:58my next question about postage

4:12:00because it is going to cost us quite a bit.

4:12:03So is there a way we can speed up that process

4:12:06to get more property owners to sign up

4:12:10so that I'll just receive an email with my bill

4:12:13instead of we have to pay for postage?

4:12:15Is there a way that we can implement that quicker?

4:12:20And through chair Chew, the Councillor Billings,

4:12:22you're starting that process right now.

4:12:25You're talking about it.

4:12:28You can continue to talk about that to the public

4:12:31and as soon as we have those channels set up,

4:12:34they will be available on our website

4:12:38through social media, et cetera.

4:12:40Okay, and when do you think that,

4:12:42you know, that I could sign up for e-billing?

4:12:45When do you think, what month?

4:12:50Through chair Chew in the new year.

4:12:54Okay, so one more thing I just wanted, well, thank you for that.

4:12:57So clarity through you, Mr. Chair.

4:13:00When it came to in the presentation with the fees,

4:13:03when you move out, when you move in,

4:13:06so will there be two separate fees for me moving out

4:13:09and the other person moving in,

4:13:11or is there just one fee with respect to this issue?

4:13:16So through chair Chew, the Councillor Billings,

4:13:19it may depend.

4:13:21So there will be a new owner fee

4:13:26similar to any other utility that is in place.

4:13:32From a move out perspective,

4:13:33depending on the timing and requirement for a final read,

4:13:41there may be like a last minute move out fee

4:13:44where, you know, the customer contacts us

4:13:47and they need a final read to occur tomorrow, for instance,

4:13:51versus in a timely fashion,

4:13:54which would be like within a two week cycle

4:13:57or something like that.

4:13:58So those fees are not yet baked out,

4:14:01but there may be fees from that perspective on a move outside.

4:14:05Okay, and then last question through you, Mr. Chair,

4:14:07on that, when you bring back the bylaw,

4:14:10will that have the fee schedule then attached to that bylaw?

4:14:14So we see what it is.

4:14:16So through chair Chew to Councillor Billings,

4:14:19the fee schedule will be coming

4:14:21as part of the budget package this year.

4:14:25Okay, thank you, James.

4:14:29Okay, just again, any more comments first?

4:14:31Nope, okay, I have mine.

4:14:33So thanks for all this.

4:14:36I know that you're in a tough business right now

4:14:38and we've had a couple of conversations

4:14:40and I really appreciate your team's work

4:14:43to navigate this for I-SALF

4:14:45and members of the Council and members of the public.

4:14:50I'm just curious, like moving forward

4:14:51with the framework in place,

4:14:53like how frequently will we be collecting arrears

4:14:57and is that something that can be made known to the public

4:15:00or is that something that's in-house for you to discern

4:15:03on a case-by-case basis?

4:15:12To you, Chair Chew,

4:15:15if I understand your question correctly,

4:15:19we will have a process in place

4:15:21where if payment is not made on the due date,

4:15:26reminder notices will go out.

4:15:29If payment continues to be unpaid

4:15:32for a 60-day timeframe,

4:15:34then that amount would be transferred to a tax account.

4:15:38So that would be baked into the utility billing

4:15:43and collections policy, those timelines.

4:15:46Okay, no, I appreciate that.

4:15:48And I guess I'm curious for the transition

4:15:51because folks are being caught off guard

4:15:54about these arrears because of the gap

4:15:59between us and Electra.

4:16:01How are we going about collecting arrears

4:16:04during this transition period

4:16:05where Electra still has some ownership in this process?

4:16:10Yeah, through you to, Chair Chew.

4:16:12That's where Michelle and her team

4:16:14are really working very well with Electra

4:16:18to put in place the process of tax rolling

4:16:23and collection of those arrears.

4:16:26The process starts with Electra notifying

4:16:30and trying to back on track program also.

4:16:34And in those situations where the accounts

4:16:37have been finalized or that isn't working

4:16:41from an Electra standpoint,

4:16:42then those are being internalized with the city

4:16:46and put on property taxes for collection.

4:16:49Okay, yeah, no, I appreciate all that.

4:16:51And I would just up to size the communications piece

4:16:54of this is going to be very important

4:16:57because this has a direct impact on people's tax bills.

4:17:00So maybe we can work on that

4:17:02and even have all those resources listed on the webpage

4:17:06very clearly and very simply

4:17:09that would do people a lot of service.

4:17:13Anyways, appreciate the work you guys are doing.

4:17:16I'm gonna call a vote.

4:17:18Anyone against?

4:17:20Okay, no, that's carried.

4:17:23Okay, and I think Mayor Guthrie has a little announcement

4:17:27to make before we adjourn.

4:17:29Thank you, Chair.