Outside firm to handle utility billing

The Village of Grafton will hire an outside contractor to handle its utility billings after utility clerk Celeste Scoville resigned to take a private-sector position. 

With the village in the midst of planning its 2022 budget and other projects, village staff members told trustees during an Oct. 4 Finance Committee meeting that they would need assistance covering utility clerk obligations in coming months and that finding an immediate replacement for the role would take too long. 

“The long and short of it is that we do not have the capacity to onboard a new utility clerk for the near term here,” Village Administrator Jesse Thyes said. 

Thyes said village staff members are stretched already as they work to finalize the budget, prepare tax bills, handle tax collection and prepare for an annual audit, and that without immediate assistance, customer-service levels will likely slip in the utility department. 

Scoville worked in the position from Aug. 16 to Oct. 8.  

To immediately assist with duties of the vacant position, village staff recommended contracting City Water LLC to temporarily handle utility billing, meter changes, new installs and other utility clerk obligations. 

Director of Administrative Services Paul Studuhar said hiring City Water is necessary because of the months it would take to recruit and train a new utility clerk. 

In addition to a six-to-eight week recruitment period, it is likely a lengthy training would be needed to get the new utility clerk familiar with their duties. 

“It does take about three or four months to train someone and get them up to speed,” Studuhar said. 

City Water has quoted $32,000 as an annual cost for providing billing services, but the village will only contract with the company on a month-to-month basis.

Under the contract, the company will handle meter change-outs, move-ins and move-outs and new installations. Village staff will perform meter change-outs, update customer information and handle customer inquiries. 

Studuhar said the village has worked with City Water before and has been pleased with the service. He noted that contracting with the company would be cost neutral with the utility clerk position vacant. 

Members also discussed the option of replacing the utility clerk position with a long-term contract with City Water and a part-time office assistant. 

Public Works Director Amber Thomas said the village has had difficulty filling the utility clerk position in the past because it requires both accounting knowledge and customer-service ability. She said splitting the clerk position into two roles may better serve the village’s needs. 

“Separating these would help this situation. Someone could focus specifically on billing, and then we could focus on somebody who has the customer-service skills that are needed for the other side of the job,” she said. 

Thyes noted a new office assistant position would have to be separately approved by the Finance Committee and Village Board. 

Following a recommendation from the Finance Committee, the Village Board approved hiring City Water to handle utility matters and instructed staff members to research if the utility clerk positions should remain the same, be changed into an office assistant position with help from City Water or other options.