Bradenton overhauls utility billing system to secure revenue and modernize collections

Bradenton overhauls utility billing system to secure revenue and modernize collectionsThe Florida municipality is rolling out a unified digital payment portal on September 1, reflecting a broader strategy to stabilize utility revenues after historically facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bad debt.

A new digital portal, "Utility Access," will launch September 1 to consolidate payment processing under a single vendor.

The system upgrades follow past policy changes that shifted utility bill liability from renters to property owners to curb heavy financial losses.

The City Council also approved a $211,088 final change order for the Water Reclamation Facility 4th Clarifier, bringing the Poole & Kent contract to $18 million.

The City of Bradenton, Florida, is set to launch a modernized utility payment processing system on September 1, marking the latest step in the city's ongoing effort to secure utility revenues and streamline operations. IT Project Manager Theresa Armstrong informed the City Council on August 12 that the new customer portal, dubbed "Utility Access," will consolidate payment processing under a single vendor. The system integrates with the city's existing My Bradenton 311 application and introduces features such as text-to-pay, auto-pay, and bilingual support. Finance Director Heidi Warnamundi noted the upgrade will bring the city's financial systems "into the current times" after years of relying on a fragmented network of multiple vendors for online payments. The digital overhaul is part of a broader, multi-year strategy to protect the utility's financial health. During the meeting, a council member highlighted the historical context of the city's billing challenges, noting that Bradenton previously accumulated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in bad debt due to unpaid renter accounts. To stem the losses, the city fundamentally restructured its billing policies to hold landlords and property owners strictly liable for their tenants' unpaid utility bills. While initially unpopular with property owners, the policy shift was necessary to eliminate the structural deficit caused by transient accounts. In addition to the administrative billing upgrades, the council advanced two key wastewater capital projects via the consent agenda. The city approved a $211,088 final change order with Poole & Kent Company of Florida for the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) 4th Clarifier project. The adjustment, which covers final paving and splitter box weir modifications, brings the total contract value to $18,035,985. Council members also approved a $98,870 change order with GML Coatings for additional manhole lining, heavy cleaning, and bypass pumping, increasing that work assignment to $189,691.