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CONTACT INFORMATION
| City of Everett
Myron Tollefson
Project Manager
425 257-8841 |
Advanced Utility Systems
www.advancedutility.com
Patricia Sorbara
President and CEO
416 496-0149 x.225 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The City of Everett Washington Selects
and Begins Implementation of Advanced Utility Systems CIS Infinity
Water and Sewer billing services scheduled to be handled by CIS Infinity
TORONTO, CANADA, March 10, 2003 - Advanced Utility Systems
Corporation (Advanced) is pleased to announce that the implementation
of CIS Infinity is underway at The City of Everett, Washington (Everett).
Everett’s search for a new CIS and billing solution began in the
winter of 2001, culminating in the selection of Advanced in late
fall of 2002. The implementation began immediately upon contract
finalization and is targeted for completion after an 8-month time
period.
Myron Tollefson, Project Manager for the implementation for Everett,
commented on the CIS selection process, “Because there have been
several troubled installations in the State of Washington in the
past several years we needed to be extremely vigilant in our selection
process. We conducted extensive research of the utility billing
solutions currently available in the market and took the time necessary
to ensure we properly evaluated all potential solutions and vendors.
Our search led us to Advanced and their CIS Infinity product.”
Everett has approximately 24,000 active water and/or sewer customers
billed on a bi-monthly basis. Everett provides water to eighty percent
of the residents in Snohomish County serving a population of approximately
400,000. The water is distributed directly to customers or through
wholesale water providers throughout Everett’s drinking water service
area. The source of the drinking water is located in the Sultan
Basin Watershed, high in the Cascade Mountains. The water is collected
in the Spada Reservoir and treated at the Everett Water Filtration
Plant, east ofEverett.
In addition to providing services to the citizens of Everett,
the system serves 33 water districts and cities providing them with
water and or sewer service.
Everett wanted a customer information and billing system that
was designed and engineered to be easy to learn and easy to use.
They felt it was essential that the software they chose to replace
their existing billing software would provide for efficient data
entry, accuracy, high productivity, and the ability to handle growth
and the possible expansion of services. Version 2 of CIS Infinity
was able to meet these demands. The team at Everett involved in
the selection process was impressed with CIS Infinity's ease of
use and the documentation built into the product.
The City conducts the billing for the core water and sewer services
but also has many unique characteristics. For example the City provides
loans for the capital expenditures associated with new sewer connections
that are amortized over 25 years. Billing is not tied to the individual,
but rather the property as the loan and payments can extend through
several owners.
The project team assigned to this project is staffed with members
from both Everett and Advanced. The team includes experts in the
set-up of the software application, the hardware requirements necessary
to maximize efficiency, the needs of customers, and the demands
of the water and sewer industry. Myron Tollefson commented on the
implementation efforts to-date, “our implementation is approximately
one-third complete, and we are pleased with the way it is progressing.
The software has met our expectations, and the team from Advanced
has exceeded our expectations in so many areas. We are confident
we will meet our projected live date and budget projections.”
Patricia Sorbara, President and CEO of Advanced commented on the
strong relationship building between the two partners, “We are very
pleased to be working with the City of Everett. The selection committee
at the City knew what they wanted in a customer information and
billing solution, and was able to clearly and effectively communicate
what was important to them and the issues that they faced in their
market”. She added, “I believe that CIS Infinity is the right fit
for Everett; with our combined skills and experience this implementation
will represent an important achievement by both organizations.”
About Advanced Utility Systems
Advanced Utility Systems Corporation is privately owned and operated
software and services Company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. The company has grown from its 1997 start-up to serve over
50 North American water, electric and natural gas utility clients
with its billing and customer information software CIS Infinity.
The team at Advanced Utility Systems delivers whatever it takes
to develop the ideal solution for the utility market. For additional
information visit our website at:
www.advancedutility.com.
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