Wenatchee utility online payments to pause during billing system transition

WENATCHEE — City utility customers who pay their bills online should expect a short pause in service and plan to re-register their accounts as the City of Wenatchee transitions to a new utility billing and payment system later this month.

Public Works Director Tom Wachholder told the Wenatchee City Council that the change “will probably affect the majority of our utility customers — over 12,000,” and said residents can expect the city’s online payment system to go offline “right around January 31st,” with the new system coming back online “around February 16th” once the transition is complete.

Wachholder said customers who currently use online payments and want to continue doing so will “probably have to set up a new user [name] and password” in the new system and will need to enter their credit card information again.

He said the new platform will be “more user-friendly and more secure” than the city’s current system and will give customers access to features they do not have now, including the ability to see a copy of their bill online.

Mayor Mike Poirier told the council the city is preparing for a spike in questions and said staff are “going to be very conscious” about helping customers at the counter and on the phone during the transition. He also noted that staff have been undergoing an unusually heavy training schedule leading up to the change.

Wachholder said the billing system conversion is the “last hurdle” in a longer modernization process that has already included upgrades to the city’s payroll and financial accounting systems.

City officials said additional guidance will be provided to customers as the transition approaches, particularly for residents who rely on the online payment system.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media