Montgomery County Environmental Services (MCES) serves over 525,000 residents in the Dayton, Ohio area. By the early 2020s, the utility faced a significant challenge in maintaining solid waste data because of the process by which bills are calculated. The process relied on hauler reporting, and an audit showed that it was likely that not all changes in service were being reported.
Raftelis delivered a holistic solution combining forensic data analysis, custom software, and strategic communications to close the revenue gap without breaking public trust.
- Best practices solid waste review
- Custom software solution: We developed the Montgomery County Annual Property Charge (MCAPC) system. This custom web application acts as an intelligent bridge, streamlining the process of importing hauler data in a standardized format, validating it against County parcel records, and calculating charges.
- Strategic implementation support: The County was concerned with public understanding and acceptance, so we executed a high-touch engagement strategy. This included one-on-one meetings with large commercial customers and staffing a temporary call center to handle customer inquiries during the rollout.
The system launched in 2023, calculating updated bills for the County, resulting in minimal customer complaints.
- <0.06% complaint rate: Upon the transition to MCAPC-based billing, the call center received only ~150 calls total—a testament to the system's accuracy and the proactive communication strategy.
- Revenue recovery: The update resulted in an immediate increase in parcel fee revenue for the County, ensuring continued financial stability.
- Operational automation: The MCAPC system replaced manual reconciliation with automated validation logic, allowing staff to focus on resolving exceptions rather than data entry.
The MCAPC system provides a flexible digital foundation that adapts to changing hauler reporting requirements and enables annual and periodic quality control of billings. MCES now possesses a steady-state process for annual billing—combining automated data processing with a scalable customer service model—that ensures long-term fiscal stability and maintains high levels of public trust.
