Small convenience fee included to offset staffing costs
MOUNT VERNON, March 9, 2022 – Employees with the City of Mount Vernon’s Utility Billing Office are working with residents to ease their transition into the City’s new InvoiceCloud bill-paying system.
The City has partnered with InvoiceCloud to offer multiple options for residents to pay their bills paper-free. Since Feb. 22 they have been able to make a secure payment – or just check their balance – using their phone at any time of the day or night, either by calling a number or via text messaging. In addition, residents can now sign up to receive text notifications about when their bills are due, along with confirmations that their bills are paid. They may also opt to receive these messages via email.
There have been a few early hiccups with the new system, particularly for residents who were using the previous portal on the City’s website to pay their bills. For instance, in the previous system account numbers had asterisks in them – for example, 01*23*4. With InvoiceCloud, the asterisks have been replaced by periods (01.23.4). The new system will not accept asterisks.
The Utility Billing Office advises that users of the previous system who had saved an old web link to access it will need to go to the City’s website to register for an InvoiceCloud account. They can do this by visiting www.mountvernonohio.org, clicking “Online Services,” and choosing “Water,” at which point they can either make a one-time payment or register for a new account. Unlike the previous system, InvoiceCloud only requires users to enter their payment information once.
For the privilege of using InvoiceCloud, residents are charged a small convenience fee, amounting to $1.95 or 2.95 percent of the transaction amount, whichever is greater. The fee exists to offset staffing costs, and is standard practice in the public sector. Various Knox County departments institute similar convenience fees for online payments, as do the vast majority of municipalities.
Previously, the City was taking credit card payments and paying the payment processor out of the utility fees, which meant that those not using a credit card were effectively paying for the automated service along with those who were paying with a credit card.
Residents who prefer to pay their bills by check, either via the U.S. mail or in person, may continue to do so, and will not be charged the convenience fee. For more information on the InvoiceCloud bill-paying system, please call the Utility Billing Office at 740-393-9504.