Complaints about late utility bills prompts council to OK vendor change

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, 11 p.m. — City utility customers who have been getting their bills late — and in some cases on the day they were due — can expect to see the situation improve in the near future.

Councilman Bill Buckman, left, and Mayor John Royalty talk prior to the start of Tuesday night’s Bardstown City Council meeting.

The Bardstown City Council approved a bid Tuesday night from a new company to start printing and mailing the city’s utility bills. The move comes after numerous complaints from utility customers about late utility bills, which can trigger penalties and in some cases, disconnection of services.

“A big part of our customer complaints is that they do not get the bills or they get them 5 days before they are due, or they get the second notice the same day they get the first notice,” Tracy Hudson, the city’s chief financial officer, told the council.

The current vendor, Arista, is in Duluth, Ga. Arista and three other companies submitted bids.  Hudson recommended the Lexington-based Bluegrass Integrated Communications Response. Bluegrass is the company that prints and mails the city property tax bills, and has done a good job with them, Hudson told the council

However, of the four companies that submitted bids, Bluegrass’ bid was also the highest. The lowest bid was submitted by Arista, the city’s current vendor.

Councilman Fred Hagan asked why the recommended vendor was the highest bidder of the four.

Hudson said she had contacted the company about the complaints about the late mailings, and the company told her they had no control over the shortcomings of the postal service. Bluegrass, being located in nearby Lexington, should be able to provide more timely billing. The property tax bills were turned around quickly and delivered on time as promised.

The council approved awarding the bid to Bluegrass with plans to evaluate their performance in about six months.

Councilman Bill Buckman explains the need the city’s K-9 officers have for a new “bite suit” used in training exercises with their dogs.

BITE SUIT REQUEST. The council’s pre-meeting banter focused largely on Mayor John Royalty’s dog bite injury from his participation in a training exercise with the city’s K-9 units last week. While wearing a protective garment known as a “bite suit,” Royalty suffered a dog bite on his hand during the training.

A bite suit is used in weekly training with the city’s K-9 units, and K-9 officers’ safety depends on the quality of the suit they use in these exercises.

The existing suit is worn and in need of replacement, Councilman Bill Buckman told the council.

“These suits last a long time, but this one was a cheap one to begin with,” he said. “They really need a better bite suit to avoid injuries.”

An anonymous contributor has given $600 to apply towards the purchase of new protective gear, and Buckman asked if the council was willing to contribute the additional $900 from its contingency fund to make the purchase possible.

The donation won unanimous approval by the council.

In other business, the council:

— approve a request to close the usual streets for the annual Christmas parade on Friday, Dec. 3, 2015.

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