Florida city upgrades to paperless bill payment

Residents of the city of Marianna, Fla., are set to enjoy the benefits of paperless billing in just a few short months, according to WMBB-TV.

The payment options currently available to area residents are outdated and somewhat limited. Specifically, Mariannans who want to pay their bills must do so by visiting City Hall to hand over the cash in person or leveraging snail mail to send checks to the municipality. Those who pick the latter option must contend with both postal and processing delays, which introduces an element of uncertainty into the bill-paying process that can be eliminated by more modern payment methods.

Now, near-instant transactions are on the horizon thanks to the imminent deployment of online bill pay, the news source reported. The city should have the capacity to process transactions online within three months – and, according to City Manager Jim Dean, the initiative has been a long time coming.

"You know, [residents] call all the time wanting to know how they can get set up for that and we just haven't had that option," said Dean, as quoted by the news source. "Now with new software package that we are using for billing and things like that, there is an enhancement now that we can upgrade and we can provide that service."

While some Mariannans are chomping at the bit to get started paying their bills online, others may not be aware of the city's plan to diversify payment methods. To get the word out, Dean plans to debut an advertising campaign prior to the site's launch, the media outlet reported.

Other paperless initiatives that can help municipalities become more efficient include the use of document imaging to digitize records and business process automation systems to streamline everyday operations.

Brought to you by Image One Corporation, providing complete information governance since 1994.