The Revenue Management Department falls under the Directorate of Financial Services. It is responsible for credit control, billing (electricity, water, sewerage, refuse, sundry debtors, housing, fire levy), customer care, prepayment, valuations and rates. Visit the FAQ section for answers to all your billing queries.

Goals

• To ensure that all properties are valued and rated.
  
• To ensure that accounts are raised and sent out to all consumers for services (sewerage, refuse, water, electricity, fire levy and sundry services) rendered.
  
• To ensure that all consumers queries and payments are attended to.
  
• To ensure that all debt is collected.
  
• To improve customer care services and increase revenue collection.
  

Nature of services

• Valuation and calculation of rates for all properties.
  
• Read meters (electricity and water), calculate sewerage charges, calculate refuse charges and sundry services.
  
• Produce and mail the monthly service accounts to consumers.
  
• Collect all consumer service payments and attend to all consumer account-related queries.
  
• Enforce council's credit control policy.
  
• Disconnect electricity and water for arrears.
  
• Utilise the prepayment system to collect arrears.
  
• Upgrade and extend pay points and vending.
  
• Set up effective customer queries and complaints procedures and systems.
  
• Set up proper documented work procedures and systems.
  
• Training and development of staff.
  

User charges

Accounts are raised as contained in the Tariff Book.

• Install new valuation program and clean up of erf data information to balance valuation and rates systems.
  
• Improve the accuracy of accounts.
  
• To collect monthly all the monthly charges raised and stop the total arrears from increasing.
  
• Decentralise customer care functions throughout Buffalo City Municipality.
  
• Ensure provision of office equipment and facilities to all customer care centres.
  
• Increase pay points and vending points.
  
• Compile customer care strategy.
  
• Organise relevant training for customer care staff.
  
• Prepare procedures manuals.
  

Medium-term objectives

• Complete a new general valuation for all properties within the Buffalo City Municipal area.
  
• To keep on improving the accuracy of the accounts.
  
• To reduce the total arrears by 10% per annum.
  
• Improve security at pay points to safeguard cash, equipment and staff.
  
• Conduct Customer Care Education Programmes in conjunction with relevant departments.
  

• Rates raised and interim valuation done by July each year. Ensure property data information is up to date.
  
• Meter reading done on time and monthly accounts sent out on time.
  
• The monthly debtors age analysis will indicate the total arrear debt situation each month.
  
• Monthly income reports - total receipts and sales (water and electricity).
  
• Collection ratio - budget compared to actual receipts on all services (ie rates, refuse, sewerage etc.)
  
• Monthly consumer queries and complaints statistics.