Municipal

For most small and mid-sized cities, outsourcing to a specialized provider is the more practical and cost-effective choice. Building and maintaining an in-house billing operation requires significant upfront investment in software, ongoing staff training, regulatory compliance monitoring, IT infrastructure, and vendor management. An outsourced provider brings all of that as a ready-made service — typically for a predictable monthly fee with no capital outlay. The city retains control of rate-setting and policy while the provider handles all operational complexity.

The cost varies by city size but the components add up quickly. Commercial billing software licenses typically run from $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollars depending on functionality and number of accounts. Implementation and customization add to that. Ongoing IT support, annual maintenance contracts, software upgrades, and staff training are all recurring costs. Most small cities find that when all costs are tallied, in-house billing is significantly more expensive than outsourcing — with none of the economies of scale a specialist provider brings.

When a city partners with Minol, the entire back-office billing operation transfers to Minol’s team. This includes meter data collection and management, invoice generation and delivery (print and electronic), payment processing, collections follow-up, customer service via a live US-based contact center, web portal management for both city staff and residents, work order management, and regulatory compliance monitoring. The city sets the rates and policies — Minol handles everything else.

The city retains full control over rate-setting, billing policy decisions, budget planning, and customer data access. Minol provides 24/7 visibility into customer data through a custom portal and generates custom reports on demand. Outsourcing the operational layer does not mean losing oversight — it means your staff can focus on policy and planning rather than day-to-day billing administration.

No. Minol operates as a seamless extension of the city’s service — not as a visibly separate company. Customer-facing communications, portals, and billing materials are configured to reflect your city’s branding. Residents interact with a professional, US-based customer service team that handles their questions and requests on the city’s behalf.

Yes. Minol can interface with virtually any existing AMI system, meaning cities do not need to replace their current metering infrastructure to work with Minol. For cities that need meter upgrades or want to move to AMI, Minol’s sister company Zenner USA — one of the largest water meter manufacturers in the world — can provide complete meter supply and installation services.

AMI stands for Advanced Metering Infrastructure — smart meter systems that automatically transmit usage data to the utility without requiring manual meter reads. AMI enables more accurate billing, faster leak detection, and better water conservation management. It is increasingly considered the standard for modern municipal water systems. Minol can work with your existing meter infrastructure or help you upgrade — whichever makes sense for your community’s budget and timeline.

Rather than metering wastewater directly — which is technically complex and expensive — most municipalities bill for sewer service based on water consumption. Sewer charges are typically structured as a separate fund, meaning all users of the sewer system contribute to its maintenance and capital improvement costs. This creates a fairer, usage-based cost distribution across the community. Minol manages the entire billing and customer service operation for sewer programs.

Stormwater fees fund the management of rainwater and snowmelt runoff infrastructure. Rather than funding stormwater through general taxes, many cities establish a dedicated stormwater utility that bills all properties based on their contribution to runoff — typically calculated by impervious surface area. Minol helps cities develop and administer stormwater billing programs, pairing billing administration with customer education materials that improve acceptance and reduce billing disputes.

Minol USA has more than 60 years of experience in utility submetering and billing. The company is part of the Minol-ZENNER Group, a global utility metering and billing organization with approximately 3,200 employees, 40 offices worldwide, and more than 30 million utility meters under management globally. Minol USA is headquartered in Addison, TX with regional offices throughout the country.