DAYTON UTILITY CUSTOMERS CAN PAY BILL AT STORES
New program can save residents the hassle of coming to City Hall.
Dayton has added a new payment option to allow water customers to pay their bills at CVS Pharmacy and Family Dollar stores, which officials hope will save some people a trip to City Hall.
Many Dayton residents and property owners pay their water bills in person in cash at the city’s treasury window at 101 W. Third St.
But the city’s new program allows customers to make utility payments in cash at the two retail chains, which combined have more than a dozen stores across Dayton.
The new service will mean some water customers will have shorter distances to travel to take care of their accounts, instead of having to catch a bus downtown or drive and find a place to park, city officials said.
“The solution we are employing is really about our customer,” said LaShea Lofton, Dayton’s finance director.
In 2017, the city’s finance department processed nearly 29,000 cash transactions totaling $3.7 million, the city said.
About half of utility payments at the city’s treasury window are made in cash.
But Dayton water customers can now pay their bills in cash at CVS and Family Dollar using bar codes unique to their accounts.
The bar codes appear on customers’ printed bills. Customers also can download their bill with the bar code or have the barcode sent to their phones or mobile devices.
CVS and Family Dollar have stores scattered across the region, but customers also will be able to pay their water bills at retail locations across the country.
When customers pay at CVS or Family Dollar, the transaction will be recorded in real time, meaning it will show up on their account immediately, Lofton said.
Some customers who pay in cash at the treasury window do not have traditional bank accounts or may be “underbanked,” meaning they heavily rely on cash in their day-to-day life, officials said.
“We know we have so many underbanked in our city, so this is a way we can help them,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
Customers who pay at the window are more likely to be facing having their utilities shut off.
CVS and Family Dollar stores have longer hours than City Hall, and they are open on weekends.
Cash-paying customers often rush to City Hall at the last minute to pay a bill before their water service is disconnected, Lofton said.
“This gives them the option to get to some place quicker and faster to make a payment and avoid shutoff that way,” she said.