Marysville officials say they are working through the bugs associated with a new, on-line utility bill payment system.
The customer self service system went online March 25.
“We have been doing this for just over 30 days. That’s why people aren’t used to it yet,” said Sandy Hoover, assistant Marysville City Finance Director. “We have really only done one billing and a delinquent billing.”
Hoover said she has monitored the start-up process and acknowledged there have been some bugs.
“Like any new system you bring along, like anything new, the first month or so you are working the kinks out, which we are doing,” Hoover said.
Even so, she said she has not heard many complaints.
“I think the biggest thing is that folks aren’t used to how they log on,” Hoover said.
She explained users will need to have a bill to get started.
“It should be pretty easy for them to sign up and get started,” Hoover said.
The process begins when users go to www.marysvilleohio.org and click on the Utility Billing link. First time users must create a user name and password. Once a user is registered, they must link their utility billing to the account. To do that, the user must enter the seven digit account ID as well as the four digit customer ID.
The account ID and customer ID are located in the top, right corner of each utility bill.
Hoover explained that the account ID stays with the property, no matter who owns it and the customer ID goes with the customer, no matter where they live in the city. She said this is “a new way of thinking” and acknowledged it took staff some time to adjust.
She said the system is meant to allow cities to offer residents a variety of services using the same customer service numbers. Hoover said Marysville does not yet have or need those capabilities, but they are possible in the future.
The system will allow users to pay by credit card or by electronic check.
Hoover said one of the “biggest features” is the ability to see live time bill payment. She said that in the past payments were not posted to the system until the utility clerks manually entered them. She said the new system posts pending payments immediately and will not allow users to pay the same bill twice.
Additionally, the system and the new printed bills show the usage history for the previous 12 months.
Hoover said the electronic payment system is just another option. She said customers can still call the utility department and pay by phone or mail payments to the department.
“We aren’t taking away any of those options. We aren’t changing any of that. We are just adding more services for our customers,” Hoover said.
Those needing additional help are encouraged to call the utility department at (937) 645-7350 and use option 1. Customers may also e-mail the department at utilities@marysvilleohio.org.
“Just give the clerks a call. There are email addresses on the bill,” Hoover said. “We are here to help. We are always eager and ready to help.”
City officials said they have not heard of many problems and those they know of have been resolved. Even so, Hoover said the city has mailed an informational brochure to customers and is working on additional help documents.
“Nothing is ever perfect,” Hoover said. “There is always going to be bumps in the r road, but we are getting there and we are going to be able to better serve residents.”
To register an account yu will need the “Account number- Customer Number” listed on your