Kitchener city councilors consider paperless utility bills

City councilors in Kitchener, Ontario, are considering paperless utility bills in order to cut down on the cost of postage.

CTV news reports that stamp price increases will balloon the annual costs of postage by $93,000. While the city will have to foot the extra-large bill this year, councilors hope to implement electronic billing for the 2015 budget in order to lower costs

The council has to decide whether paperless billing will be an option for residents of Kitchener, or if it will be mandatory. 

"I'm very concerned about the percentage of residents who are very leery of anything coming out of a computer, or don't have a computer," said Councilor Yvonne Fernandes.

Other options include "grand fathering" current residents into the plan, and giving newcomers no choice but to subscribe to paperless billing. Another idea involved offering rebates to those who pay electronically. Many businesses, schools and local governments have switched to paperless work environments for the purposes of business process automation, cost effectiveness and environmental impact. 

According to statistics reported by Larson Allen via PricewaterhouseCooper​s, a paper document costs $20 in labor costs to produce and file. A misfiled one will run $120 and reproducing a lost file prices out at $220 per document. Document management software has helped in changing this, cutting costs associated with paper-based operations and streamlining practices. 

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