City to improve payment processing with software

In early 2002, the Moreno Valley, Calif., Finance Department decided it needed to change its cash receipt software to improve customer service for residents and businesses. The department’s version of the software was not designed to communicate with software in other divisions to record payments, which required a lot of footwork by residents to carry papers between city offices.

For example, to obtain building permits, residents were required to visit the Building and Safety Division to submit plans, carry invoices from the division to cashiers to pay for the permits, and then go back to the division so it could record the payment. Each time, residents would stand in another line of people trying to do the same thing.

Moreno Valley began evaluating alternatives to its software in November 2002. City officials wanted technology that would work on its existing servers and network, that would integrate with four other computer systems used by several divisions and that would come with a high level of customer service from the vendor.

In February, the city purchased Payment Manager software from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Class Software Solutions to process payments for 15 divisions, including fire, planning, land development, building and safety, and parks and recreation. The Parks and Recreation Department had been using the company’s software since 2001 to manage facilities and registration for events.

The department’s experience with the vendor contributed to the city’s decision to expand its use of the software. “We knew that, even after the contract is signed and we’ve been up for a year, [customer service would not be an issue],” says Brooke McKinney, revenue officer for the city.

Currently, the city is working with the company’s consultants to review business processes in preparation for use of the new software beginning July 1. City officials expect the software to improve customer service by simplifying communication between city divisions and cashiers and by reducing the amount of time residents have to stand in line to make payments. “It’s been a real good time to evaluate what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” McKinney says. “There was a lot of manual interaction between the divisions before. That’s what we’re trying to use Class’s technology to reduce. We’re looking at this as a streamlining feature to get the customers through the process a lot quicker and easier.”