New Gainesboro Utility Payment System Running

The town of Gainesboro has upgraded its utility payment system to allow online and telephone payments for increased efficiency and convenience.

Town Clerk Lisa Dodson said residents had to pay in person with cash or checks until now. She said the town has added an online portal that allows customers to pay water and sewer bills with debit and credit cards. She said residents have long wished for a remote payment option and a modernized system.

“It’s so much easier,” Dodson said. “You know, some customers, they may not have a way to be here to pay their bill. Like I said, they could forget. It just makes it much simpler. They can just go on there and do it themselves without, you know, having to make sure that they get it mailed in or dropped off.”

Dodson said residents who sign up for online payment can also set up a schedule for automatic bank draft payments. She said since the system went live on May 1, it has gone off without a hitch and many have already taken advantage.

“It’s more convenient,” Dodson said. “A lot of people want to pay with their debit and credit card. Most of the time, people don’t use checks anymore. They don’t want to go to the ATM and get the cash out. They’d just rather use their debit and credit card, so it’s going to be good for us and the customer.”

She said the new system offers forgiveness for customers who forget to pay until their bill is due. She said the “quick pay” feature lets residents get their payments in at the last second. She said many people work out of town during city hall’s 8:00am-4:00pm office hours and have been forced to leave physical payments in an overnight lockbox.

“If they go and get money out, it usually charges them,” Dodson said. “So, they just assume take the charge that the city imposes on it instead of using cash. So, yes. This is something that customers want.”

She said the town agreed to purchase the service through United Systems and have been satisfied with the modernization attempt.