DeSoto works to address utility billing issues as residents demand answers

As utility billing problems continue for some DeSoto residents, on Wednesday night, city staff met with them to address their concerns. 

Several residents say their water bills don't match their online accounts, and getting answers over the phone has been difficult.

"It's like you can't get any answers," LaTanya Maxwell said. "Everyone keeps saying that they have a new system going on, be patient with us, but I think we've been patient enough." 

"I would just tell everyone, the city is not sitting idle on this," City of DeSoto Public Utilities Director Brandon Lacy said. 

City staff says they've requested on-site support from Tyler Technologies, the vendor behind the new billing system. 

They say problems surfaced after its launch that hadn't appeared during testing. 

In a video last week, the city's interim city manager addressed the ongoing  problems, telling residents if they've noticed a past due notice on their current bill, disregard it. Even if they paid their previous bill, he says the new system is incorrectly carrying that amount forward. 

"We will not be turning off anybody's water during this period until we get back to normal operations," Lacy said. 

While all of this is sorted out, the city has brought in additional customer service representatives to help with the high volume of calls.

"When you call on the phone, you're expecting to get an answer and we understand that," Lacy said.

Another town hall is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. and it will be held virtually.