Billing audit looks for unrealized utility revenues
The lengthy consent agenda the Hot Springs Board of Directors will consider tonight includes a contract to audit the city’s utility billing system for lost revenue.
Water Company of America will receive half the new revenue its findings generate for city utility funds, according to the contract the board will consider tonight. Half of the new revenues from accounts that had been misbilled will flow to the Houston company for 48 months.
The city said WCA was the only company that responded to the request for proposals it issued in November.
“This is something the (Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association) recommends utilities do from time to time,” City Manager Bill Burrough told the board earlier this month.
“I can’t remember the last time we actually did an audit. These are going to pick up things like we have a five-eighths inch meter that got keyed but they have a 2-inch line, or maybe an account didn’t get wastewater added to it,” he said.
WCA will be reviewing the city’s customer information system via a read-only link the city provides it, according to the contract. The city said the look back will extend to 2016. Corrective action, such as a billing code change, WCA recommends on an account has to be implemented within 30 days.
“Both parties recognize and agree that the purpose and intent of the project cannot be realized until approved changes have been implemented and accounts are fairly and accurately billed,” the contract said. “If account changes are not completed by the city within the time frames described, the city shall approve and pay an estimate of the WCA share.”
Burrough said the city is unaware
of any specific billing issues affecting utility revenues.
“In talking to some of our peers in the industry that have gone through the process, they’ve been successful in finding something that’s either been miskeyed or misapplied into the billing,” he told the board. “We think it’s a good idea to see if there’s any type of revenues we may be able to increase by this audit of our billing system.”
The $166 million budget the board adopted for 2024 projected water and sewer revenues of more than $48 million.
The consent agenda also includes the following items:
• Resolutions authorizing the city to apply for $11 million in federal infrastructure grants.
The $9 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant the city asked to apply for would fund construction on parts of the Southwest Trail, Pullman Avenue Trailhead and Stokes Creek Greenway Trail.
Hot Springs is the southern terminus of the Southwest Trail, a 60-mile pedestrian and bicycle corridor connecting downtown to the Arkansas River in Little Rock. The RAISE grant would help the city fund its part of the trail. Spa Construction Co. donated 6 acres of right of way from Vernel Street to Mill Creek Road for the city’s portion last year.
Garland County was awarded a $1 million federal grant last year to build 1.15 miles from the eastern city limits to Westinghouse Drive.
The city is also seeking authorization to apply for a $2 million RAISE grant to plan and design four new multiuse trails totaling 18 miles and the extension of Belding Street to Malvern Avenue.
Trails recommended for future development by the city and Friends of the Park nonprofit include the Airport Trail, which would access the future Stokes Creek Greenway from Airport Road. The Gulpha Trail would follow Gulpha Creek until it merges with the Southwest Trail.
The city and National Park Service are partnering on Whippoorwill Trail, a multiuse trail to the west of businesses along downtown Central and Whittington avenues.
“There is great interest from the National Park to provide a safer route for bicyclists through the downtown area,” the city said in its request for board action.
The Railroad Trail would follow Genesee and Wyoming Railroad right of way from the Southwest Trail east of Hot Springs to the city of Mountain Pine. The Belding extension would bring East Belding to a signalized intersection with Malvern, near the Garland County Library.
“Both of these are really huge infrastructure grants staff has worked on for quite some time,” Burrough told the board. “We’ve attended sessions to write a grant that would have a better opportunity to get funded. They are very competitive.”
• A resolution authorizing a $112,173 purchase order for the construction of electrical transmission mains, utility poles and a transformer for the new 15 million-gallon a day water treatment plant the city is building on Randall Road.
The city said the lines will be overhead until they reach the entrance of the more than 30-acre plant site. The city will be responsible for trenching and conduit for the underground installation, according to its extension of services agreement with Entergy Arkansas.
• A resolution authorizing a $92,561 purchase order for 55 Taser X26P conducted energy weapons for the police department.
Police Chief Billy Hrvatin told the board the new weapons are the same models the department purchased last year with grant funds. The 55 he requested will complete the wholesale replacement of all of the department’s conducted energy weapons.
Citing the sole source exemption in the state procurement code, the enabling resolution waived competitive bidding. The city said Axon Enterprises is the state’s lone TASER Energy Weapons vendor.