Blytheville residents may soon be able to pay their water bills online.
Tuesday night, the Airport and Utilities Committee voted unanimously to recommend the Blytheville City Council agree to purchase new software for Waterworks.
Along with online bill pay, the Continental Billing System for Windows (CBSW) would allow residents to access 12 months of their account history, offer different payment methods and feature a phone tree that can send automated calls for everything from a late bill to hydrants being flushed out and disaster information. Other cities using the software include Jonesboro, Little Rock, Benton and several smaller communities.
"This will really, truly bring us into the 21st century," Waterworks manager Gary Phillips said.
The software will cost $67,290, he said.
Councilwoman Missy Langston asked if the company, Jonesboro-based Continental Utility Solutions would allow the city to make payments.
"They have been very generous in the arrangements they will let us make," Phillips said. "They've offered us a very good payment plan."
He said CUSI "knocked our socks off" with its product and presentation. Phillips added it was the best software of the four Waterworks was considering.
"It is the only software package that everybody in the office agreed is what we needed," he said.
Councilman John Musgraves, who chairs the committee, said the new software would benefit the city.
Phillips pointed out the current software, Softwater, "may be one of the worst software packages I've ever seen. It is an absolute trainwreck. It crashes three or four times a day. ... It's archaic software. It was archaic when we bought it. It's my understanding from the people who are here, there was not a lot of thought put into it."
He said the mid-1990s software needs to be replaced.
"I understand that we're having some financial issues, but this, I think, will help us generate more revenue," Phillips said. "What we have right now, it's like trying to use a screwdriver on a pair of glasses. It's terrible."
The package would include two new handhelds for the meter readers.
Phillips said one of the current handhelds has been crashing, leading to a recent "billing hiccup."
He said a malfunction caused lost data from the previous month's reading.
New handhelds would not be compatible with the current software, Phillips said.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com