Ask the PAC: Why are Petaluma utility payments being sent to San Jose?

The check may be in the mail, but what’s that mail’s destination anyway?|

Ask the PAC

This weekly feature aims to get to the bottom of Petalumans’ burning questions and provide insight into vexing daily curiosities.

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The check may be in the mail, but what’s that mail’s destination anyway?

That’s the question atop several readers’ minds in the past few weeks as they’ve noticed - rather belatedly - that their city utility bills are being shipped all the way to San Jose.

Question: Why are Petaluma residents sending utility payments to San Jose?

Answer: Petaluma made the switch in May 2020 to address staffing shortages, and to “create a more efficient invoice process,” said Gina Benedetti-Petnic, the city’s interim Public Works and Utilities director.

The switch involves the city contracting with a San Jose-based payment processing company.

About 45% of Petaluma’s utility account holders now send their payments to San Jose, with others opting for different solutions, including a still-active Petaluma P.O. Box, where payments continue to be processed at the mail room at City Hall.

Other options include drop boxes at the Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd., and City Hall, 11 English St., a toll-free, 24-hour phone line 1-877-484-4346 and the city’s preferred method: online payments at onlinebiller.com/petaluma.

For questions, including to ask about in-person payments, call 707-778-4350 Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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