Case Study: Brenham, TX

At a Glance:

• City of Brenham, TX
• Utility Billing Manager: Wanda Kramer
• Population: 15,716

Challenge:

• Minimize overreliance on paper
• Streamline billing processes
• Contribute to “go green” initiatives
• Provide top-notch customer service

Solution:

• Tyler Output Processor
• Online Bill Pay

Benefits:

• Over $31,800 saved in labor costs
• Decreased manual payment postings from 7,700 to 3,800
• Minimal paper and postage use
• Top-notch customer service through convenient bill pay methods

The demands placed on government agencies are constantly changing and always challenging. Fortunately for the City of Brenham, Wanda L. Kramer and her team in the utility billing department remain in constant pursuit of technology that helps their city meet these demands as efficiently as possible.

Through Kramer and her team’s efforts, Brenham’s utility billing department has transformed into a streamlined and resourceful unit, capable of handling any of the demands it’s faced with. Kramer attributes her department’s success to their continued partnership with a software vendor savvy enough to create innovative solutions specific to the issues they face: Tyler Technologies.

Tyler sparks efficiency through continuous software development

Each year Kramer, the Customer Service and Utility Billing Manager for the City of Brenham, or her assistant, Shelley Addison, attends Tyler Technologies’ Annual User Conference that showcases the various technological and software advancements Tyler has made to improve agency processes. Kramer stressed how pleased she is with the continuous development of the software and looks forward to implementing new applications.

“Whenever we go to the annual user conference, we always come back with something that we want to implement,” Kramer said. “We always find new Tyler applications that benefit us. We’ve been a customer of Tyler Technologies for more than ten years and we have been adding different Tyler applications just as soon as they were introduced as new options.”

Since 2002, the City of Brenham has added Tyler’s Online Bill Pay, Tyler Output Processor and interfaced Tyler software directly with existing Brenham applications, such as Remit Plus. These applications have helped the City of Brenham minimize the costly use of paper and streamline billing processes while simultaneously contributing to “go green” initiatives and providing top-notch customer service.

The applications have had a substantial impact on Brenham’s bottom line, as well. Through the implementation of these products, the City of Brenham has halved the number of utility payments that are manually processed by employees each month. Even more impressive is the fact that the city accomplished this while also converting a fulltime position to a part-time position, which further increased their savings in labor costs by over $31,800.

Tyler Output Processor supports “go-green” initiatives and increases customer satisfaction

The City of Brenham implemented Tyler Output Processor to streamline billing procedures and gain a much-needed lift in eliminating both paper and manual processes.

“I was really excited about implementing Tyler Output Processor, for both my office and for our customers,” Kramer said. “Our citizens really benefit from this, as they can have their statements emailed to them immediately. They get it immediately after I send it in the morning – I couldn’t wait to begin using it.”

The rest of Kramer’s team in the utility billing department was excited about the possibilities, as well. With some local Brenham businesses receiving more than 30 bills each month, Tyler Output Processer allowed Kramer and her employees to forgo the tedious process of printing and mailing multiple bills to the same address. The dramatic decrease in paper-dependent processes also aligned with the city’s goal of “going green.”

Conclusion

Through the continued efforts of Kramer and her team, the City of Brenham has transformed their day-to-day operations in a way that maximizes both savings and efficiency. Addison, Kramer’s assistant, said she is pleased with the support service her city receives from Tyler.

“Tyler Technologies is an amazing organization. Not only is the technology always changing to meet our needs, the client support service they provide is excellent,” Addison said. “I always look forward to calling the support teams, knowing that the person on the other end will do whatever it takes to solve the issue. Hats off to the client support group!”

Kramer claims that, through the city’s continued partnership with Tyler Technologies, more innovative solutions are on the horizon.