Duties: Fiscal management of Public Utility funds, creation of annual operating budgets for Water, Sewer, Storm Water and Public Works Divisions. Conduct statistical and financial analysis to determine the department's financial health and position. Assess the need to adjust the water / sewer, storm water and sanitation collection rates. Serve as financial liaison between the East Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Board, the Storm Water Board and the City.

Structure: Three primary groups comprise Fiscal Services: The Fiscal Group, the Administration Group and Customer Services Group.

Fiscal Services is the group that creates the five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and the operating budgets. They account for expenditures following standard accounting practices, allocate funds, and produce monthly and annual reports. They schedule and conduct bond sales and find additional sources of funding to complete projects, as required. Project change orders are processed through Fiscal Services for funding. This group is also responsible for the preparation, administration and management of Federal, State and local grants both within and outside the Public Utilities Department.

Items of Interest

The Public Utilities Department is contractually bound to provide financial support to both the East Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Storm Water Boards.

Fiscal Services functions as the liaison between the Boards and the City of West Palm Beach.

All City facilities receive water and trash bills, just as any citizen does.

Rates for water, sewer and sanitation are assessed every three to five years with adjustments as needed.

The Public Utilities Department budget is approximately 70 million dollars per year.

The City of West Palm Beach has spent approximately 100 million dollars on improvements to the Water, Sewer, Storm Water and Wastewater infrastructure over the past seven years.

The Administration Group attends to all personnel issues for the Public Utilities Department. Their actions include monitoring promotions and transfers, filling job openings, tracking performance reviews, maintaining personnel records, ensuring policies and procedures are followed and purchasing needed administrative supplies. This group works closely with all divisions to support all the employees of the Public Utilities Department.

Customer Service / Utilities Billing Unit

Mission: To establish service for water customers, connect residents and businesses to City water sources and sewer discharge lines, monitor usage, bill for water, sewer and sanitary collection services, ensure accurate accounting of customer payments and serve as the focal point for customer issues.

Operations: The Customer Service Division responds to a large volume of requests for service from the public. They provide turn on - turn off services; respond to requests for repairs, low-pressure problems and water restrictions. They read individual water meters to verify water usage and bill accordingly.

Capacity: The City is capable of producing approximately 47 million gallons (MGD) of potable water per day. Average demand is approximately 29 MGD of water per day and the average customer uses approximately 300 gallons of water per day.

The City of West Palm Beach Customer Service Division services approximately 32,000 residential and commercial water and sewer accounts.

Water service is also provided to the Cities of Lake Worth and Riviera Beach, the Village of Royal Palm Beach, the Town of Palm Beach, and soon the Indian Trails Improvement District. Sewer service is also provided to the Village of Royal Palm Beach.

Operations and Maintenance: The Customer Service Unit is divided into two major sections based on the service they provide.

Field Service personnel install and read meters, check water flow for pressure and volume and respond to customer complaints by repairing or replacing City installed equipment or advising the customer of the nature of the problem when it falls outside of City jurisdiction.

Water meters are checked and repaired or replaced

Internal Service personnel are primarily concerned with taking orders for new service, terminating service for departing customers, converting meter reports to accurate customer billings, tracking payment for services and responding to customers who call in for assistance. They also ensure that utility bills are paid in accordance with the payment due dates.

Customer Services Office

The Customer Service Superintendent is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the department, budgeting, and long range planning.

Special Projects: The Public Utilities Customer Service Division has recently installed a new customer service and utility billing system. This new system will provide more flexibility and service to both the customers and the City.

The conversion took place in two phases.
Phase I resulted in a new format of the utility bill. Utility customers are no longer required to visit the office in City Hall to establish residential services. All residential transactions can be done by telephone.

Phase II was much more ambitious. It enabled the customer to interact with the billing system to pay bills on line through the internet, by automatic draft or by credit card. Additionally, an Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) was installed that allows customers to use their telephones to interact with the billing system. Directions and services are provided in both English and Spanish

In addition to providing quicker, more flexible customer service, the up-graded billing system generates savings by increasing on-time collections and decreasing staff overtime.