City residents can pay bills online now

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August 12, 2009

By JOE LoTEMPLIO The Press Republican Wed Aug 12, 2009, 11:28 PM EDT

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PLATTSBURGH — City residents can now pay their bills online.

The city's Web site, www.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov, features a link that will allow residents to pay utility bills online and check their history.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Pay Bills/Services Online tab on the left side of the screen and then by selecting utility billings.

Directions on how to navigate the site are clearly displayed, and customers will need their utility account numbers, which can be obtained from old bills.

Residents can also elect to go to paperless billing by clicking on the green wording in the upper-right-hand reference that says, "Go Paperless, click here to sign up for E-Billing."

City Chamberlain Richard Marks said the system will allow customers to view their past usage history, which might help them with budgeting.

Services can also be started and stopped online.

Mayor Donald Kasprzak said the program is all part of making the city more efficient.

"This is something we've wanted to do since I got here three years ago, and it is something the taxpayers deserve."

The new system went into effect Monday. By Wednesday afternoon, Marks said, about 25 people had signed up for electronic billing, and the site had about 40 hits.

While residents can pay their utility bills online, a system to pay property taxes electronically is still being developed.

E-mail Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com