After nearly a year of discussing issues with the water billing system in Pearland, newly elected Mayor Kevin Cole proposed council create an ad hoc citizen committee that would provide input on the city’s utility billing process, according to agenda documents.
Cole is picturing a committee of five to seven community members to work alongside city staff, one or two council members, himself and consulting company Raftelis Consulting Group to provide input on the utility billing process, he said. The members would ideally have some expertise in the topic as well, he said.
In February, city staff informed council that the city was seeing a 60-day gap between reading water meters and sending out bills, which had caused the city to fall behind in collecting $6 million in payments. Some citizens have since asked for more transparency from the city.
“My thought is: It’s one of the first steps of helping to rebuild the trust of the city,” Council Member Gary Moore said. “It doesn’t seem like everything is going on behind closed doors if we have an ad hoc committee that is going to be there.”
