the city of forest park: Municipal Utility Bill Audit

As a new City Manager, making an immediate impact on the community is a top priority. When Ricky Clark stepped into the role at the City of Forest Park, he set bold goals for his first 100 days in office, goals that required funding to deliver.

Upon hearing about the possibility of identifying savings through a contingency-based utility bill audit requiring no out-of-pocket costs, Mr. Clark wasted no time scheduling a meeting with Utility Management Services (UMS). With 117 electric accounts across the city, he knew there was a strong likelihood that savings opportunities existed.

Following approval by Mayor Angelyne Butler, MPA and the City Council, the City of Forest Park provided UMS with a signed service agreement, a power provider authorization form, and one month’s bill for each electric account. From there, UMS’s analytical team downloaded hourly usage data directly from the power provider, reconstructed past bills, and analyzed usage patterns to determine the most cost-effective rate plans available.

The thorough assessment revealed several beneficial opportunities, none of which required any operational changes to city facilities or services.

UMS identified $16,000 in annual savings for the City of Forest Park: exactly the kind of tangible result that Mr. Clark, Mayor Butler, and the City Council had hoped to achieve within the first 100 days of his leadership.