Utility Billing Supervisor

BASIC PURPOSE

Reporting to the Financial Services Manager, the Utility Billing Supervisor is responsible for leading and supervising professionals in the areas of customer service, automated meter reading system maintenance, payment processing, and the City violations bureau. The Utility Billing Supervisor is also responsible for administering the City's utility billing system which includes, but is not limited to, determining efficient meter reading routes and schedules, customer account billing, accounts receivable, and penalties.

Please note: Interviews are tentatively scheduled for March 29, 2024.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Team Leadership & Development

• Leads a staff of professionals in the areas of (including but not limited to):customer service, automated meter reading system maintenance, payment processing, merchant services administration, and the City violations bureau.

• Selects,motivates,trains,supervises,andevaluatestheperformance of staff, creating and executing individual and cross-training plans to develop necessary staff skills, as appropriate, for the benefit of the City's utility billing and other customer services functions.

• Plans, directs, coordinates, and reviews the work plan for Utility Billing Division staff; delegates work appropriately and assigns work activities, projects and programs; reviews and evaluates work products, methods and procedures; meets with staff to identify and resolve problems.

• Communicates effectively and develops and maintain positive and cooperative relationships with employees, internal department partners, other public agencies, citizens, and stakeholders; enthusiastically promotes and supports the City's goals and priorities in compliance with all policies and procedures in a professional manner.

Division Planning & Organization

• Assists with the development of division goals, objectives, and priorities; monitors and measures performance; provides coaching, and implements corrective work plans and/or actions as needed.

• Develops strategies for customer service functions provided within the Division and implements the program or directs program operation with the assistance of the utility billing staff and/or other City departments.

• Maintains filing systems and records that provide effective evaluation, control, and documentation of assigned operations.

• Develops and implements internal work procedures, both automated and manual to ensure the consistent delivery of a quality product and services; monitors and evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery methods and procedures; recommends appropriate service and staffing levels to maintain consistency and quality of services.

• Maintains a system of internal controls to ensure the security of confidential customer data, protect public funds, ensure consistency with red flag policy requirements, maintain compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and consistency with utility billing best practices.

• Maintains confidentiality of work-related issues, City records, and City information in coordination with all state and federal public records statues and regulations.

• Defines policies and procedures relating to utility billing collections; evaluates current trends in the industry and determines feasibility for use at the City.

• Supervises and participates in the development and administration of the division's annual budget; participates in the forecast of funds needed for staffing, professional services, equipment, materials, and supplies; monitors and approves expenditures; implements adjustments.

• Attends a variety of utility billing and customer services related meetings and other administrative meetings with intergovernmental partners, City and department staff, Council, commissions, committees, citizen groups, and others as needed. Acts as a subject matter expert in providing information and presentations; attends training.

Technical Expertise

• Administers the City's utility billing system which includes: determining efficient meter reading routes and schedules, customer account billing, accounts receivable, and penalties; provides administration functions for the utility billing and cashiering software and hardware; takes a leadership role in the implementation of any new utility billing software; ensures system maintenance and works to resolve billing system issues in a timely manner. Informs management team when there are system issues and provides recommendations on quick resolutions.

• Responsible for timely billing and collecting of charges for water, sewer, and storm sewer the weekly reading of water meters, the turning on and off of water meters and the operation of customer service and cashiering activities; supervises the discontinuance of service and lien processing for delinquent accounts;

• Performs internal audits; researches problem utility accounts; resolves difficult customer complaints and situations not settled by customer services staff; follows up by telephone or letter where appropriate; and records adjustments to accounts.

• Ensures and maintains accurate customer history information, including ownership, address, parcel number, tenant, applicable rate, consumption, and payment history; researches and analyzes customer history for specific service areas, neighborhoods, or class of customer as required.

• Prepares informational notices and explains utility rate structures and rate changes to the public; briefs customer service staff on upcoming increases and recommends improvements to rate structures, ordinances, policies, and procedures.

• Provides metrics as requested by management, City staff, and stakeholders.

Other duties as assigned

• Attends and participates in professional group meetings and stays abreast of new trends and innovations in accounting and financial reporting best practices and technology specific to the Utility Billing Division; serves as a division representative and may conduct and/or facilitate meetings.

• Maintains various tracking lists and databases and completes reports and provides metrics for utility billing processes and programs as requested.

• Reviews existing filing processes and systems for potential improvements and implements changes as necessary; maintains all documents as appropriate and retains and archives in accordance with the Washington State Retention Schedule.

• Maintains and updates information for the Utility Billing Division on the City website.

• Participates in special projects and performs other related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

An Associate's degree with an emphasis in finance, accounting, management, business, or a related fieldAND two (2) years of work experience involving customer relations, utility billing, and account collection. In addition, the qualified applicant will also have a minimum of two (2) years of supervision, which can be concurrent with the two (2) years of work experience.

OR

Four (4) years of progressively responsible experience involving customer relations, utility billing, and account collection. In addition, the qualified applicant will also have a minimum of two (2) years of supervision, which can be concurrent with the four (4) years of work experience.

• College level courses in the areas listed above will substitute on a year for year basis, up to a maximum of three (3) years.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Local government, utilities, BARS, and GAAP experience are preferred.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OR LICENSE(S)

• Must pass a thorough City of Lacey background investigation and reference checks.

• Must possess a valid Washington State driver's license at time of hire OR must obtain within 30 days from date of hire, and must have a driving record acceptable to the City and the City's insurance carrier; OR must be able to provide own transportation to and from job, meetings, and related job sites.

• Mustmaintain a level of physical and mental fitness necessary to perform the essential functions of the position.

• Must be attentive to job safety considerations and follows all required safety policies, procedures and techniques.

• Verification of identity and United States work authorization must be complete as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of:

• State laws and municipal ordinances related to areas of responsibility, including municipal utilities and rate structure regulations.

• General utility billing and auditing principles, practices, and procedures and industry best practices.

• Principles of supervision, training, mentoring, and providing work direction.

• Basic mathematical and computational skills needed to perform work.

• Public policy issues relating to utility billing and the general needs of the community.

• General office procedures and practices; computers and their applications in financial and accounting systems including on-line, automated record, and bookkeeping systems, PC based spreadsheets, databases, and word processing systems.

• Utility reporting platforms and best practices.

Skill in:

• Analyzing and organizing technical information and using critical thinking.

• Troubleshooting and solving complex technical problems, using good judgement in decision making.

• Supervising, leading, mentoring, and coaching staff.

• Monitoring division expenses and developing, maintaining and forecasting the division budget.

• Developing appropriate metrics related to area of work and providing analyses of such metrics for division efficiencies; compiling reports and presentations on metrics for utility billing processes and programs.

• Using proper business English and grammar for drafting letters, memos, and related correspondence.

• Excellent record keeping for maintaining correspondence, reports, and documentation.

Ability to:

• Maintain knowledge of current city, state/federal and local laws and regulations related to area of work.Research and apply legislative mandates, administrative codes, state statutes, policy decisions, and the goals and objectives of the City and related state and local agencies, including drafting division policies and/or standard operating procedures (SOP's) as needed.

• Project a strong commitment to the mission, vision, and values of the City with the ability to foster and maintain the trust and support of employees and the community. Enthusiastically promote the City's goals and priorities in compliance with all policies and procedures.

• Coordinate several complex projects simultaneously and with extreme attention to detail, while supervising the Utility Billing staff and meeting internal customer needs.

• Establish, update, interpret, apply, and explain rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

• Forecast, plan, organize, prioritize, and coordinate the work-flow of a division; train, supervise, and evaluate personnel; provide effective training and leadership to staff.

• Perform responsible and complex technical, administrative, and/or clerical work using independent judgment, initiative, and discretion with specific emphasis on utility billing functions; analyze complex issues and make accurate decisions independently.

• Maintain assigned utility billing systems in accordance with appropriate auditing practices and procedures.

• Research utility billing problems, analyze data, and recommend improvements and/or solutions as appropriate.

• Maintain records in compliance with state retention records.

• Produce an accurate, thorough, and complete work product and to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

• Communicate effectively and develop and maintain positive and cooperative relationships with internal customers, employees, public agencies, citizens, and stakeholders.

• Diffuse potentially hostile situations and resolve disputes in the interest compliance and customer service in a respectful manner and with an understanding of project deadlines; meet deadlines and organize daily work effectively in cooperation with other departments and staff.

• Research and prepare accurate utility billing reports and analyses.