CORS-070-12 Epost - Electronic billing option for - Town of Milton

The Corporation of the
TOWN OF MILTON
Report to: Chair & Members of the Administration & Planning Standing Committee
From: Linda Leeds, Director, Corporate Services and Treasurer
Date: September 17, 2012
Report No. CORS-070-12
Subject:
Epost – Electronic billing option for Property Tax
RECOMMENDATION: THAT Report number CORS-070-12 dated September 17, 2012
regarding optional electronic delivery of property tax bills via
Canada Post’s Epost system be received for information
REPORT
Background
Canada Post was the first to develop electronic mailing in 1999. They have made it
easy for municipalities to convert their physical mail into digital mail thus providing the
customer with an additional method for receiving their bills.
Epost has 7.7 million registered Canadians, 2000 + Canadians sign-up each day and
over 100 companies are registered mailers.
In 2011, Canada Post restructured into two divisions, Physical Delivery Network and
Digital Delivery Network, to reflect a renewed focus on accelerating the expansion of
Canada Post’s digital capabilities. Their Board of Directors approved a significant
investment over the next two years to advance Epost through the addition of new
partners, new products and new services.
Discussion
Several years ago staff looked into the implementation of Epost for the delivery of tax
notices and at that time it was cost prohibitive. With the new direction/investment into
expanding the digital delivery system Canada Post approached staff with a new
proposal that significantly reduced the cost of implementation. Staff has analyzed this
proposal and has estimated that we require approximately 5% enrollment of ratepayers

The Corporation of the
TOWN OF MILTON
Report No.CORS-070-12
Page No. 2
in year two to breakeven with the on-going costs; this is equivalent to 1,100 tax
accounts.
In Milton, there are currently 22,621 registered Epost users. Canada Post statistics
indicate that new mailers (like the Town of Milton) experience an enrolment uptake
between 5-20% in the first year.
Advantages to implementing Epost are:
1. Enhanced Customer Service
• Epost provides our customer with the option of receiving their tax bills
electronically. We have had numerous requests from taxpayers to provide
this service.
• Instant notification that their tax bill is in their electronic mailbox
• Bill can be saved for up to 7 years in electronic format
2. Environmentally Friendly Solution
• Reduction in paper and ink
3. Ease of Implementation:
• Canada Post will provide a Project Manager and a Solution Manager to
work directly with staff to develop and implement on-line digital mail
delivery
4. It is easy and cost-effective to connect to the Digital Delivery Network for
electronic bill delivery (Epost)
• Dedicated Canada Post IT resources specialized in digital mail delivery
ensures fast response to market changes and end-to-end support.
• Compliance and auditing; that assures that our customer information is
protected
• PCI compliance
• There are no costs to the ratepayer to enroll in Epost to receive their mail.
5. One-Stop Solution
• Canada Post provides a true 100% solution (Data capture, document
presentation (electronic) and seamless connection to online banking sites)
• Easy reconciliation: we will receive a single invoice for all services, web
presentment, fax or email transmissions, and postage

The Corporation of the
TOWN OF MILTON
Report No.CORS-070-12
Page No. 3
Staff spoke with municipalities that have implemented Epost for the delivery of tax bills
and received positive feedback as it pertained to the ease of the system, the security
and enrollment.
Staff will promote the use of Epost through the Town website, on tax correspondence,
when responding to tax inquiries over the phone and due date notification ads placed in
the local paper.
In conclusion, Canada Post is providing implementation incentives to encourage
municipalities to utilize Epost for their bill delivery. Staff will be proceeding with the
implementation of Epost for the delivery of our property tax bills. This provides our
customers with another convenient and technologically advanced option for receipt of
their tax bill.
Relationship to the Strategic Plan
Provide Responsive, Effective Municipal Government
• To provide strong leadership in the effective and efficient delivery of municipal
services
• E-billing is a natural complement to the Town’s ongoing sustainable development
efforts as paper reduction is associated with environmental care.
Financial Impact
The Town’s property tax system (Vailtech) will require modifications to allow for the
electronic billing of tax bills. Vailtech has indicated that the cost for this modification is
$5,600.00. These one-time costs will be funded from the previously approved 2012
Capital Budget for Vailtech service enhancement projects.
On-going costs as outlined in the proposal are summarized as follows:
• Epost delivery fee of $0.39
• Mail processing fee of $0.01 (based on PDF format)
• Monthly maintenance fee of $250 (for the months that transactions files are sent)
The impact on the 2013 operating budget impact will be dependent upon the uptake of
this service with a minimum cost of $250 per file sent. Staff is expecting to send only
one file in 2013 (final tax bill). Since implementation and notification of this service will

The Corporation of the
TOWN OF MILTON
Report No.CORS-070-12
Page No. 4
occur in January staff are not expecting enrollment of taxpayers for the interim bill which
is printed and mailed the last week of January.
Canada Post has also found that individuals who receive mail electronically also tend to
pay their bills electronically. This can also provide additional savings of staff time in the
processing of payments. The Town already utilizes on-line banking for the payment of
taxes through various financial institutions so there would be no additional effort or cost
for staff if the volume of usage increases for this payment method.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Leeds, C.G.A.
Director, Corporate Services and Treasurer
LL:lp
If you have any questions on the content of this report: Lesley Payton, 905-878-7252, ext 2141
Attachments: Epost presentation
CAO Approval: _________________________

Town of Milton
July 12, 2012

Agenda
• Constituents Expectations for Digital Mail
Delivery
• The Security and Simplicity of epost
• How epost can strengthen your “Green”
Branding & Increase Customer Satisfaction
• What’s New in 2012
Town of Milton
July 12, 2012

Canadians have the Largest Number of
Internet Users Per Capita in the World 1
of Canadians are online.
Sources:
1 Comscore Inc., April 16, 2011.
2 Canadians active in online banking, Advisor.ca, July 27, 2011.
13.3 million Banked
Online in Q1 2012
7.8 million Paid Their
Bills Online 2

One
Location
83%
Source:
TNS survey, November 2011.
What is Important to Canadians?
Security
80%
Integrate
w/ Online
Banking
79%
Online
Filing
79%
Digital
Postmark
69%

What’s in it for you?
A Secure, Cost-Effective way to Deliver Mail
Delivery Costs
Production Costs
Payment Processing Costs
# of Calls to Customer Service *
Digital ‘Mail’ Delivery, Minus the Guesswork
Leverage a Trusted, Secure, Hosted platform
Environmentally-Friendly Solution
Meet your Environmental Stewardship Mandates.
Strengthen your “Green” branding
*Source: E-billing adoption: overcoming barrier s and maximizing ROI,
Prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers. September 2009

E-Billing ROI goes well beyond paper savings
Benefits were identified in every category analyzed:
Reduction in billing costs 50 % Improvement
Reduced payment processing Automated payment rose: 81% to 94%
Improved DSO 1.5-day improvement
Reduced bad debt/collection expense
Reduced customer care costs
Low churn
Source: “Overcoming barriers and maximizing ROI: A comprehensive study of ebilling
adoption in the utility sector” by Michael Dolenko & Phase 5, June 2009
Less likely to go into collection status
12% reduction in customer support
calls
Highly satisfied customers
*96% e-retention rate

Improve Customer Experience
Consumers want to receive, file and store all their important mail
in a single, secure location.
Businesses want to reduce billing costs by cutting printing,
processing and delivery expenses.
% who rate epost TM “better” than biller direct services
The security of your business transactions & information
Reliability that you bill will be delivered on time
Ease of Use
The accuracy of the information that is delivered to you
Source: “E-Billing adoption: Overcoming barriers and maximizing ROI
A comprehensive study of e-billing adoption within the utility sector” p.32
August 2009, Prepared by Price Waterhouse Coopers
Online
21%
22%
30%
21%
Bill Type
Physical
12%
15%
14%
9%

Billing Cost Element Paper Bill E-Bill Cost Difference
Printing, Envelope & Mailing Costs $0.14 N/A $0.14
Insert Costs
Decrease Bill Production Costs
The billing cost savings to the Local Distribution Companies (LDC) associated with
an e-bill compared to a physical bill is approximately $0.36 per bill, reflecting a
greater than 50 % reduction in unit billing costs.
$0.06
(avg.)
N/A $0.06
Postage Costs $0.61 N/A $0.61
Transactional cost N/A $0.40 $(0.40)
TOTAL cost per bill $0.81 $0.40 $0.41
Source: “E-Billing adoption: Overcoming barriers and maximizing ROI
A comprehensive study of e-billing adoption within the utility sector” p.6
August 2009, Prepared by Price Waterhouse Coopers

Decrease Payment Processing Costs
Payment Type Physical E-Bill Physical E-Bill
Tele-Banking 63% 63% 41% 49%
Direct Deposit 22% 35% 19% 27%
Cheque 15% 2% 40% 24%
• $0.30/payment cost premium for cheque processing
• A shift from physical to e-billing results in a net savings in payment processing
costs.
• Based on the transactional analysis of payment methods above assuming a:
• 13% reduction in payments via cheque
• $0.30 cost differential
COST SAVINGS: $0.039 per e-bill transaction
Source: “E-Billing adoption: Overcoming barriers and maximizing ROI
A comprehensive study of e-billing adoption within the utility sector” p.9
August 2009, Prepared by Price Waterhouse Coopers
Residential
Commercial

Bank-Grade Security for Peace of Mind
PCI Compliance
Electronic Postmark
Annual Canadian Institute of Chartered
Accountants (CICA) 5970 Audit
All Documents Governed by:
Canada Post Corporation Act
Privacy Act
Government Security Policy (GSP)

We’re fully committed to
We’re investing heavily
• $10x millions approved by Board of Directors for epost TM
• $5 Million Marketing and Advertising Campaign for epost TM
We’ve restructured to make it happen
• 2 Divisions at Canada Post:
• Physical Delivery Network
• Digital Delivery Network
We’ve brought on proven digital expertise
• Kerry Munro, former Managing Director of Yahoo! Canada,
Group President – Digital Delivery

Getting the word out
Launch Date: May 2012
Marketing Investment: $5 Million
Objectives:
•Increase awareness
•Drive traffic to the epost TM Registration Page
•Encourage Mailer Registration
Supported by:
•National, Regional and Local Reach
Campaign Elements to include:
Mass Media Public & Media Relations
Social Media Community Initiatives
Direct Mail Mailer Co-Marketing

Critical Mass of mail required
Research indicates a minimum of 5 documents are
required in order to encourage adoption
Property Tax
* Nov 2011 TNS Survey
How many bills, invoices, notices or statements would you have to be able to
receive through epost for you to sign up for the service?

Organizations Using epost Today