Copperas Cove updates customers on utility account transition

By BRITTANY FHOLER 

Cove Leader-Press 

The city of Copperas Cove held its second townhall Tuesday evening at the Copperas Cove Civic Center to share information regarding the transition from Fathom to an in-house, full-service utility administration department. 

Approximately 30 to 35 people attended this month’s townhall while over 600 people watched the livestream on the city’s Facebook page. 

City Manager Ryan Haverlah shared a brief history of the city’s utility administration, from switching to Fathom in 2017 to Fathom informing the city it would be going out of business in November 2019 and the city’s decision to switch back to an in-house utility administration department. 

The last bills for Cycles 1-7 were sent out by Fathom by December 17, 2019, and a second bill for Cycle 1 was sent out on December 30, 2019, which Haverlah said was not supposed to happen and that the city was unaware of the second bill going out until recently. 

As of press time, the city has sent out bills for Cycles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Cycle 5’s bill went out on Wednesday. Cycles 6 and 7 will see their bills sent out by March 18 and March 25. 

Customers in Cycles 2-7 will see two base rate charges for the months of January and February. Cycle 1 will not because they received their bill in January. 

These bills are essentially for at least two months of service. Cycle 7’s bill will have 71 days of usage billed. As a result, the city is offering payment arrangements. 

“If customers need a payment arrangement as a result of this transition, we will work with you as customers,” Haverlah said. “You didn’t put yourself in the position of not receiving bills for more than two months, and we recognize the fact that this has been very contentious for customers and very uncertain, and so we want to help you and take some relief, some of that stress off you by letting you know we will work with you to get payment arrangements that will fit your budget.”

Customers have to request the payment arrangement, however. It will not automatically be applied just because a customer is late in paying their bill. 

There are still no late fees assessed and no disconnections as a result of nonpayment. The city will not start assessing late fees and disconnections until May, Haverlah said. 

At a recent city council meeting, Haverlah revealed that some customers, who were paying using Bill Pay through their banks, were still sending payments to Fathom instead of to the city. He encouraged residents to make sure that the payee address is correct so that the city receives those funds and they can applied to the customer’s account. 

Those calling into make a payment or inquiry will likely have to leave a message, as the department is experiencing a “tremendous” amount of phone calls, Haverlah said

The customer service representatives will call customers back as quick as they can. Haverlah said there have been some customers who have called and left a message six times in one day. 

“You know what we as city staff have done?” Haverlah asked. “We’ve called that customer back six times.”

The customer portal is active, but the information is not updated. Customers who had an existing account previously are able to make payments through the portal, and those payments will be credited to the customer’s account, however that will not be reflected on the portal yet. 

The city is working on creating new account numbers for every customer. As a result, AutoPay is not functional yet. When the city is finished creating the account numbers, then customers will be able to activate AutoPay through the customer portal. 

One question asked was regarding the 20 percent senior citizen discount. Some residents have said that the discount is not being applied. Haverlah said the discount is still being applied but it is not showing up as a separate line item. Instead, the discount is built into the net calculation, he said. 

For example, the normal base rate of $19 will show up at $15.20. 

Customers can pay their bill in person at the Utility Administration Office, located at 914 S. Main Street in Suites A and B; by phone (254-547-8718); by mailing payment to Utilities Administration, P.O. Drawer 1419, Copperas Cove, TX, 76522; by drop box at 914 S Main St, Suite A or Suite B or at the Police Department at 302 E Ave E; or online through the WaterSmart portal: https://copperascovetx.watersmart.com/index.php/welcome.