University students living off Grounds now will be able to pay some utility bills online, because of a new integrated computer system that the City of Charlottesville plans to implement within the next 18 to 22 months, according to Assistant City Manager Linda Peacock.
The new system, City Links, was created by the company SAP. City Links is an enterprise resource package that has been used by many big businesses for years, Peacock said.
The package will allow the City to integrate many different business functions into one.
"We are replacing systems that are in some instances 25 or more years old and that, in some cases, are not integrated at all," Peacock said. "The goal of the system is to allow us to modernize the technologies, reform our business practices and make us more available to our customers."
Eventually, the system will allow residents of Charlottesville to accomplish several tasks online that they previously would not have been able to do.
Residents will not only be able to pay bills online, but also report various problems around the City such as potholes. This information then will go to the public supervisors who would then be able to assign a work-order and get the problem fixed quickly and efficiently, Peacock said.
Around 9,000 University students and faculty who live off Grounds will be able to take advantage of the system once it is up and working, according to City Manager Gary O'Connell.
"Our goal is to have all financial transactions handled by the City online," O'Connell said. "We chose City Links because all the other available options were more expensive. This program provided more bang for our buck."
City Links will become a one-stop site for job applications, forms, building permits, work-orders and bill paying.
The system will be the first of its kind in Virginia. Similar systems exist nation-wide in cities such as Boston.
The project will cost approximately $6.6 million and will be paid for with City funds over a 10 year period, O'Connell said.
Peacock said that this was a must for the City, as most of its operating systems have been outdated for awhile.
"We have aging software systems in languages that are not even being used anymore," Peacock said. "We have some of our most basic systems on a mainframe whose useful life has ended."
Several University students said paying their utility bills often is a hassle.
"Paying utilities is so time consuming," third-year College student Elizabeth Cavness said. "It is frustrating, because you have to wait for it to come in the mail and then you have to write a check and then you have to go buy stamps."
Third-year College student Sarah Goodin said it would be easier to pay her utility bills online.
"I think that it would be a lot more convenient because that way you don't have to deal with all the paperwork," Goodin said
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