The city offers quarterly and monthly billing options for its utility account holders. Approximately 54% of all city utility accounts were billed on a monthly cycle in 2021; over 150 people made the switch from quarterly billing to monthly billing last year. In 2021, over 6,700 bills were processed on average each month.
Residents can also take advantage of the city’s electronic billing option. With electronic billing, customers get immediate access to a copy of their utility bill which avoids postal delays and reduces the city’s postage and supply costs. In 2021 247 customers opted to receive an electronic bill; that number has presently increased to 267.
The city offers several payment options for customers including, automatic deduction, online bill payment from the customer’s bank, online website payments, in-person payments, by mail or customers may use the drop box located outside of City Hall. There are currently 448 customers who have opted for the automatic deduction option, which is an increase from 375 customers in 2021.
The city receives approximately 827 monthly payments from customers using their bank’s online bill payment service. This number has remained steady over the past several years.
On average 2,170 residents take advantage of the online payment option available on the city’s website, an increase of 150 per month over the previous year. This option results in the fewest errors because residents log directly on to their individual account to make payment.
Payments received in person, by mail or in the drop box remain the most popular method residents choose to pay their Sidney utility bill. While residents are starting to come back into the office to pay bills after the pandemic (or pay through the drop box or by mail) the numbers are still lower than in prior years.