City of Lawton to Upgrade Utility Billing Software

*** WATCH HOW TO VIDEO 1 & HOW TO VIDEO 2 ***

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 4/7/2022

The City of Lawton has processed all March billing cycles and is starting on the April billing cycles. There are four cycles currently behind for April; these are expected to be processed by Monday, April 11. Once those are processed, all billing cycles will be processed at their normal times. The City of Lawton would like to thank the citizens of Lawton their continued patience during this transition period.

Please direct questions concerning utility bills to the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 4/5/2022

The City of Lawton would like to let its utility customers know that the utility billing cycle, which was delayed due to the conversion, is nearly caught up. At present, two cycles still need to be processed for billing; these cycles are 18 and 19.

Cycle 18 is located north of Ferris Avenue, south of Kingsbury Ave, east of Sheridan Road and west of Fort Sill Boulevard. Cycle 19 is south of Lee Boulevard, north of Woodlawn Road, east of 11th Street and west of Tower Road. (CLICK HERE to see the initial PSA with maps.)

The billing cycles that have been disseminated were mailed out between Friday, April 1 and Monday, April 4; it is possible that these billing cycles may receive overlapping bills due to the software conversion delay in March. If citizens receive overlapping bills, citizens will still be given the standard time of 20 days for payment with each bill. Cycle 18 and Cycle 19 will be mailed during the latter part of this week and will be due in late April and the overlapping bill which will arrive later in April will be due in early May.

The City of Lawton continues to encourage utility customers to sign up for the customer service/payment portals. Citizens should note that if they sign up for auto draft, payment processing will take effect with the next billing cycle. Currently 1,960 customers have signed up for auto draft services. This represents 39 percent of the people who were formally enrolled in auto draft services. If citizens have an unpaid balance, they should be sure to make their payment before the due date. The City of Lawton is thankful for citizens' understanding and patience during this transitional period.

Please direct questions concerning utility bills to the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISED 4/4/2022

The City of Lawton would like to assure its utility customers that there will be no late fees or any repercussions charged to accounts that may be affected by the recent utility billing software conversion. The utility customers who will be billed this week will be given approximately the same amount of time to pay their utility bill before it is considered late. The City of Lawton would like to thank citizens for their continued patience during this transition. Please direct questions concerning utility bills to the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 4/3/2022

The City of Lawton is continuing to catch up on utility billing cycles, which was delayed by the recent software conversion. Other unanticipated technical difficulties have also contributed to the delays. The City of Lawton anticipates the utility billing cycles to be caught up within the next week. The City of Lawton asks for citizens patience as we continue through the utility billing software conversion. Please direct questions concerning utility bills to the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 3/30/2022

The City of Lawton recently launched both the Self Service Portal and the Payment Portal of its updated utility billing software. Citizens are encouraged to set up an account within the Self Service Portal by linking their utility account. Citizens who are wishing to pay online or opt in for auto draft must set up an account within the Self Service Portal and the Payment Portal; this is to best protect citizens’ payment information. Accounts can be set up at this link: https://selfservice.lawtonok.gov/css

If citizens need further assistance on setting up accounts online, they may call 1-888-635-3596, which is a designated line to assist citizens with accessing their account number and customer number or to seek technical assistance with the portal. Assistance at this number will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Due to high call volume, citizens may experience prolonged wait times.

Self Service Portal How-to

1. Set up a Self Service account by going to https://selfservice.lawtonok.gov/css and click “Register for new account”
   • To set up their account, citizens will need their first name, last name, email address and generate a password.
2. After creating an account, citizens will need to select “Utility Billing” to link their utility account.
   • Citizens will need to list their name as it appears on a previous utility bill, account number and customer number when connecting their utility account. If you have an existing utility bill, the account number and customer number are available at the top, right-hand corner. NOTE: Some people may have an issue when linking their account due to various characters in their name or have a middle name used on their utility bill. In those instances, we recommend calling 1-888-635-3596 for assistance.
3. Next, citizens will need to access the Payment Portal to make a one-time payment or set up a reoccurring payment.

Payment Portal How-to

1. After citizens have created a Self Service account, they must click “Pay Now” for a one-time payment or “Payment Options” to move forward with paying their bill online, to sign up for auto draft, etc.
   • If citizens wish to make a one-time payment, they should click “Make a one-time payment without registering.” To make the one-time payment, citizens will need their first name, last name, account number – (DASH) customer number, and then conclude with payment information.
   • If citizens are signing up for auto draft or would like to set up a reoccurring payment, they must set up an account within the Payment Portal and click “Create a new account.” To set up a Payment Portal account, citizens will need their first name, last name, account number – (DASH) customer number; citizens must also fill out the required information, which can be the same information used for their Self Service account; email, username and password.

If citizens need further assistance on setting up accounts online, they may call 1-888-635-3596.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 3/25/2022

The City of Lawton’s Utility Services has opened the Payment Portal for is new utility billing software today, March 25. This will be the area of the new system where citizens can pay their bill online, sign up for auto draft, opt in for emailed bills and text reminders, etc.

To access the Payment Portal, citizens must first set up an account within the Self Service Portal at this link: selfservice.lawtonok.gov/css. Select “Self Service” and then select “Register for new account.” To create an account, citizens must have a valid email address. After creating an account, citizens will need to select “Utility Billing” to link their utility account. Citizens will need their name, account number and customer number when signing up within the portal. If you have an existing utility bill, the account number and customer number are available at the top, right-hand corner.

After citizens have created an account, they must click “Pay Now” or “Payment Options” to move forward with paying their bill online, to sign up for auto draft, etc.

If citizens need assistance with their account number and customer number, they can call 1-888-635-3596, which is a designated line to assist citizens with accessing their account number and customer number or to seek technical assistance with the portal. Assistance at this number will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The City of Lawton announced on Jan. 19 that the Utility Services Division would be upgrading its software with Tyler Technologies’ Munis Utility Billing CSS in partnership with Liberty National Bank. This implementation will revolutionize the city’s Utility Services Division and how citizens will receive and pay their utility bill. Click here to read the initial announcement.

For questions, contact the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 3/19/2022

The City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division opened the Self Service Portal for its new utility billing software today, Saturday, March 19. This will be an opportunity for citizens to create a login within the portal before the full system goes live Monday, March 21. When the full system goes live on March 21, citizens will be able to pay their bill, sign up for auto draft, opt in for text and email alerts, etc.

Access the Self Service Portal at this link: selfservice.lawtonok.gov/css. Select “Self Service” and then select “Register for new account.” To create an account, citizens must have a valid email address. After creating an account, citizens will need to select “Utility Billing” to link their utility account. Citizens will need their name, account number and customer number when signing up within the portal. If you have an existing utility bill, the account number and customer number are available at the top, right-hand corner.

If citizens need assistance with their account number and customer number, they can call 1-888-635-3596, which is a designated line to assist citizens with accessing their account number and customer number or to seek technical assistance with the portal. Assistance at this number will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The City of Lawton announced on Jan. 19 that the Utility Services Division would be upgrading its software with Tyler Technologies’ Munis Utility Billing CSS in partnership with Liberty National Bank. This implementation will revolutionize the city’s Utility Services Division and how citizens will receive and pay their utility bill. Click here to read the initial announcement.

For questions, contact the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

UPDATE, PUBLISHED 3/11/22

The City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division will undergo an implementation week from March 14-18 to import data into the new utility billing software, which is scheduled to go live March 21.

The City of Lawton announced on Jan. 19 that the Utility Services Division would be upgrading its software with Tyler Technologies’ Munis Utility Billing CSS in partnership with Liberty National Bank. This implementation will revolutionize the city’s Utility Services Division and how citizens will receive and pay their utility bill.

During the implementation week from March 14-18, the Utility Services Division will continue to operate with limited services.

- The division will continue to accept payments both digitally and physically. Although, payments will not reflect on citizens’ utility accounts until after the software goes live on March 21; the payment will be recorded manually by city staff. Citizens will still be expected to pay their bill by their due date even if the due date falls during the implementation week.

- The division will be able to tell citizens how much their utility bill is but will not be able to look up water usage information.

Citizens should be aware that the implementation week will cause delays in billing. After the new software goes live on March 21, billing cycles will change. The new billing cycles will go into effect April 1.

For questions, contact the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308.

PUBLISHED 1/19/2022

The City of Lawton continues its digital transformation process with the implementation Tyler Technologies’ Munis Utility Billing CSS in partnership with Liberty National Bank. This implementation will revolutionize the city’s Utility Services Division and how citizens will receive and pay their utility bill. The implementation is tentatively scheduled to go live March 21, 2022.

With this new system, citizens will have access to the Munis Citizen Self Service portal where they will have 24/7 access to important information and methods for paying bills and fees over the internet. Citizens will also be able to submit, track and receive responses for service requests online; access past and current utility bills and payment history; and make payments online via credit card or e-check. The new system will also allow citizens real-time access to their meter readings, allowing them to personally view, monitor and track their water usage.

MAIN CHANGES FOR CITIZENS

• To continue protecting citizens’ information, citizens who are currently signed up for bank auto draft will have to sign up again within the new system. Citizens will be able to self-sign-up for bank auto draft online and will not have to submit a voided check to the Utility Services Division. The City of Lawton apologizes for this inconvenience but ask for citizens’ understanding and patience during this transition.
• Citizens’ billing cycles will change; therefore, citizens will receive a new schedule for when their bill is issued and when payment is due. (CLICK HERE to view an example of the new bills.)
• Bills will still be mailed, but citizens will have the ability opt-out of paper bills and receive emailed bills.
• The bills have been redesigned and will give citizens a more in-depth look at their usage data.
• The address for mailing bill payments will change from City Hall to a PO Box managed by Liberty National Bank.
• The new utilities system, coupled with the city’s partnership with Liberty National Bank, will improve the bill pay experience. Checks will clear customer banks within a 24-to-48-hour time period, instead of the typical five to seven business days.
• The new utilities system provides for greater online capabilities. Citizens utilizing the Utilities Customer Service portal can self-sign-up for email and text notifications for bills, payment reminders, etc. Citizens mustsign-up for the notifications; this will not be automatic.

MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PAYMENT

• Citizens can still utilize the drop box outside City Hall.
• The online platform will allow citizens to pay their bill online (one-time payment), or set up reoccurring (ACH, credit/debit cards) payments.

Citizens will have the opportunity to register within the new program before it goes live. More information about when the program will be open for registration will be available soon.

For questions, contact the City of Lawton’s Utility Services Division at 580-581-3308 or visit the City of Lawton’s website, lawtonok.gov.