Utility Billing Technician

If you want to join a hardworking team that shares a commitment to provide top-quality municipal services in a prime North County location, consider a career with the City of Escondido. We have an opening for the position of Utility Billing Technician in Finance/Utility Billing. For a complete listing of job duties and qualifications, please refer to the corresponding job description, which can be obtained from the Human Resources Department or downloaded from the City of Escondido website.

Under general supervision, participates in a variety of complex and difficult customer service and technical billing duties including those in support of the City’s utility service and billing functions; performs a wide variety of accounts receivable, account maintenance, data entry, billing, and public contact work in support of the assigned customer service function; assumes responsibility for specialized functions such as maintaining the utility billing system;

and performs a variety of technical tasks relative to assigned areas of responsibility.

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

• Performs a variety of specialized functions related to maintaining the City’s utility billing system; troubleshoots problems; coordinates with information systems staff to implement upgrades; assists in testing patches; audits queries developed by others; applies rate changes to the system including to create, structure, and test utility rates in the system.
• Responds to the more sensitive and difficult public inquiries in a courteous manner; researches, resolves, and responds to customer problems and complaints in an efficient and timely manner; explains departmental billing and collection policies and procedures to the public.
• Receives and processes payments for water utility bills; processes checks and money orders received; researches and resolves billing problems; enters payment into computer; reconciles and adjusts customer accounts; generates notice of balance due or past due, as required; receives and processes requests for water service including new service, restoration and termination; prepares and maintains a variety of files, logs, records, and reports;
  
  prints and distributes reports; receives and processes incoming mail and returned mail; monitors and maintains adequate quantities of supplies and forms.
• Participates in the development of goals and objectives as well as policies and procedures; makes recommendations for changes and improvements and participates in the implementation to existing standards, policies, and procedures; monitors work activities to ensure compliance with established policies and procedures; may provide training to new employees.
• Assists in establishing schedules and methods for providing adequate coverage for telephones and counter in the Utility Billing area; identifies resource needs; reviews needs with appropriate managing staff; allocates resources as needed.
• Provides vacation and temporary relief as needed.
• Performs related duties as required.

Knowledge of:

• Operations, services, and activities of a water utility customer service program.
• Principles of training.
• Bookkeeping and clerical accounting principles, practices, and terminology.
• Methods, procedures, practices, and terminology used in billing and financial record keeping work.
• Modern office procedures, methods and equipment including computers.
• Computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical databases.
• Principles and practices of fiscal, statistical, and administrative record keeping and reporting.
• Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation.
• Methods and techniques used in customer service and public relations.
• Receptionist and telephone techniques.
• Programs and services of the organization relating to service fees, billing, and account maintenance.
• English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Mathematical principles.

Ability to:

• Ability to work in a fast paced, often hectic work environment.
• Independently perform the most difficult bookkeeping, clerical accounting, and customer service duties involving the use of independent judgment and personal initiative.
• Understand the organization and operation of the City and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Understand, interpret, and apply general and specific administrative and departmental policies and procedures.
• Exercise tact and judgment in responding to inquiries and resolving complaints and problems.
• Make mathematical computations rapidly and accurately.
• Find and reconcile discrepancies in balancing accounts.
• Implement and maintain standard filing systems.
• Maintain records and reports.
• Operate and use modern office equipment including a computer and various software packages.
• Operate 10-key…