TL;DR (generated · confidence: high)

Customer Services manages billing and collections for 195,400 active water, sewer, and stormwater accounts. The 2026-27 proposed budget allocates $44,981,155 in total revenues and $43,739,390 in program expenses. Key initiatives include Advanced Metering Infrastructure with customer portal, expanded equity-focused financial assistance for low-income customers, and climate resilience efforts targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.

Key points (each cites a PDF page):

Manages 195,400 active water, sewer, and stormwater accounts for Water Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services (p. 958 ↗)
2026-27 proposed total revenues of $44,981,155 ($25.4M from Water Fund, $17.8M from Water Construction Fund, $43.2M from external revenues) (p. 958 ↗)
Program expenses 2026-27: $43,739,390 total ($12.9M personnel, $11.9M external materials/services, $10.6M capital, $8.4M internal materials/services) (p. 958 ↗)
Provides culturally responsive services and expanded financial assistance program to qualify low-income customers (p. 959 ↗)
Advanced Metering Infrastructure project will include customer portal providing real-time data access (p. 959 ↗)
Performs water-related building permit application reviews to ensure compliance with water service standards (p. 959 ↗)
Financial Assistance Program expanded with staff assessing needs by area to increase participation among underserved communities (p. 959 ↗)
Bureau committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and increasing renewable energy use (p. 959 ↗)

Amounts: $44,981,155 · $43,739,390 · $25,353,175 · $17,806,120 · $43,159,295 · $12,894,967 · $11,894,012 · $10,561,000 · Programs: Customer Services · Advanced Metering Infrastructure · Billings · Call Center · Collections · Low Income · Parties: Water Bureau · Bureau of Environmental Services (BES)

Customer Services

Source: PDF pp. 958-959 ↗ · raw: 958 · 959

Breadcrumb: Service Area Summaries > Public Works > Water Bureau > Customer Services

City of Portland Fiscal Year 2026-27 Proposed Budget Public Works > Water Bureau > Customer Services Customer Services Budget Revenues by Fund 2023-24 Actuals 2024-25 Actuals 2025-26 Revised Budget 2026-27 Proposed External Revenues $248,923 $105,435 $0 $43,159,295 Grants Fund $150,438 $0 $0 $0 Water Construction $0 $0 $0 $17,806,120 Fund Water Fund $98,485 $105,435 $0 $25,353,175 Internal Revenues $145,848 $343,655 $365,319 $1,821,860 Grants Fund ($25,141) $0 $0 $0 Water Fund $170,989 $343,655 $365,319 $1,821,860 Grand Total $394,771 $449,090 $365,319 $44,981,155 Program Expenses by Major Object Program expenses only include personnel, internal materials and services, external materials and services, and capital. 2023-24 Actuals 2024-25 Actuals 2025-26 Revised Budget 2026-27 Proposed Capital Outlay ($526,495) ($362,608) $11,000,000 $10,561,000 External Materials and $4,480,957 $5,354,919 $9,612,256 $11,894,012 Services Internal Materials and $5,649,748 $7,073,456 $7,061,581 $8,389,411 Services Personnel $15,195,091 $14,923,693 $14,451,061 $12,894,967 Grand Total $24,799,301 $26,989,460 $42,124,898 $43,739,390 Program Description and Goals The Customer Service program is responsible for managing and collecting revenues on 195,400 active water, sewer, and stormwater accounts for the Water Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). This includes meter reading, managing account and customer data, billing, payment processing, and collections management of accounts that are billed monthly, 958

City of Portland Fiscal Year 2026-27 Proposed Budget bimonthly, or quarterly. Additionally, Customer Service provides culturally responsive services, offers financial assistance and outreach support/ education to qualifying low-income customers, and ensures water provision programs, billing, and services are accessible to people with disabilities. The program additionally supports development by performing reviews of water-related building permit applications. All developments are reviewed to ensure that they comply with standards for water service. The bureau recognizes that climate impacts to the water system could disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and customers. The bureau aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050 and increase use of direct renewable energy sources to help mitigate future harm to vulnerable communities who are disproportionately impacted by climate change. The bureau's climate resilience and net zero decarbonization efforts are designed to anticipate and prepare for climate impacts to the water system and neutralize bureau emissions. The capital program includes the Advance Metering Infrastructure project. The project will include a customer portal to provide customers with real-time data. Services Advanced Metering Infrastructure Billings Call Center Collections Low Income Meter Reading & Inspection Permits/Plan Review Service Center Water Quality Cust Service Equity Impacts Staff in Customer Service work directly with customers and have made significant changes to accomplish their work equitably. The Financial Assistance Program has expanded to offer help to more people, with staff continuously assessing needs by area to increase participation among underserved communities. The bureau assesses the impact of shut offs and debt collection on vulnerable populations while adopting practices that maintain fiscal responsibility. The bureau partners with culturally specific organizations to increase education about financial assistance so participation reflects customer diversity. Staff address accessibility by removing program barriers, adding bill payment options emphasizing cash solutions, designing ADA-compliant web pages, and leading compliance with federal, state, and city language access policies. For customers with disabilities, staff provide enlarged bills, braille conversion, and written communication. The bureau engages in inclusive hiring to increase multilingual staff, enabling culturally responsive services. Managers regularly use interpretation and translation services to meet customer needs. Changes to Program There are no significant changes to this program in FY 2026-27. 959

Parent: Water Bureau · PDF: pp. 958-959 ↗