Monrovia's Online Billing AND Phone System Are Down

Both the city's computer billing system and phone system are broken. Here's a letter from City Manager Dylan Feik explaining what's going on.

- Brad Haugaard

Hello Monrovians!

I want to provide this Special City Manager’s Update regarding two significant IT issues the City has been experiencing.

Utility Billing is Down

On March 17th, the City’s utility billing software has been down. During a planned equipment upgrade, the City lost its financial system data which includes utility billing but also payroll, accounts payable and financial reporting. Since that date, City staff and our contract partners have been working tirelessly to rebuild all systems and get them back online. First, we recreated payroll to ensure employees would be paid on time. Now, the priority is restoring our utility billing system.

What we are not doing

• We are not generating new utility bills at this time
• We are not sending bills to any water customer
• We are not applying late fees or penalties
• We are not shutting off water
• We are not accepting online bill payments as the online bill pay system is unavailable

What we are doing

• We have all staff/contractors working around the clock to restore utility billing
• We are reading water meters to collect accurate consumption data. The data will be used to prepare utility bills in the future
• We will communicate when the utility billing system is operational again
• We are accepting payments for those desiring to pay at this time. Here's how you can pay –In-person at Monrovia City Hall during business hours Mon-Thurs 7 am - 6 pm, Friday 7 am - 5:30 pm
• By phone calling 1-800-272-9829 (select option 3 and use Jurisdiction Code 1573)
• Drop your payment (non-cash only) in the drop box at the entrance to City Hall

Phone System is Experiencing Technical Problems

The City’s antiquated phone system is being upgraded by our network provider, Frontier Communications. All facilities have been experiencing higher than normal instances of “dead air,” which is when an external call to the City results in no sound being transmitted, although the call is connected. We have reported instances of this happening at City Hall, the Police Station, Public Works and even Community Center. We anticipate the phone repairs to be completed within the next few weeks.

In the meantime, if you have issues connecting or are looking for information on your utility bill or any other matter, please email my office with any requests at pio@ci.monrovia.ca.us. We will get you connected to the information you need as soon as we can.

I am sorry for the inconveniences caused by these disruptions. And while it’s hard to imagine they are both happening at the same time, I assure you we are working as hard as we can to get up and running as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

I've included a list of FAQs (below) to assist, but if you have further inquiries or require assistance, please get in touch with our utility billing customer service team at 626-932-5517. If you are having issues connecting with city staff over the phone, please email pio@ci.monrovia.ca.us. Of course you can always contact me directly as well.

FAQ’s

Why haven’t I received my utility bill? While the City’s utility billing system is currently being rebuilt, we do not have the ability to generate utility bills at this time. However, consumption data is still being accurately recorded and will be included when the next bills are generated.

Will I have late fees or water shut offs? During this time, there will be no late fees or water shut offs.

Can I prepay my utility bill? Yes, customers have the ability to prepay their utility bills. At this time, we cannot determine how much you owe. However, your last bill could be a good estimate of that amount. If you wish, you can make a prepayment using that estimate, and we will apply it to your bill once the system is back up. Please read through the options on how to pay on the next question.

Can I pay online? No. Until the system is rebuilt, the options to pay are to:

1) Pay in person at Monrovia City Hall during business hours

2) Pay by phone by calling 1-800-272-9829 (select option 3 and use Jurisdiction Code 1573)

3) Drop your non-cash payment in the drop box at the entrance to City Hall

Will I get one large catch-up bill? No. Once the system is up, separate monthly bills will be generated.

Was the City hacked? No. The City’s utility billing system, nor any other City systems, were NOT hacked. Customer data has not been compromised.

For more information on Municipal Utility Services, please visit our City website.

Sincerely,

Dylan

Email: dfeik@ci.monrovia.ca.us
Phone: (626) 932-5585