Advancing City Communications

Recently a survey was distributed to Deer Park civilians primarily through the mail with water and sewer bills. The topic was communication with the city. Councilmember Caleb Stapp pointed out that the delivery method may have skewed the results as it targets a specific demographic.

The Mayor indicated that some things were in the works as a result of the survey but did not provide any details. The data did show that some of the preferred methods of communication were mailings, text messages, and emails. In addition, the Deer Park City website was rated low as a source of information by city residents.

Phone Interruptions
Though meetings are occuring in person again, a teleconferencing system is still in use to allow Deer Park citizens to listen in and the City Attorney to participate remotely. The conference phone is set on the council desk with a microphone suspended above it. During the last meeting, several interruptions from this system resulted from callers on the line who were not muted. City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman mentioned his own difficulty using the system. The majority of council members have repeatedly expressed that they don’t need to upgrade the phone system or switch to online video conferencing as they feel it would exclude some from being able to access the meetings.

At some past meetings, the conference phone has not worked at all or has blocked key people, including council members, from joining the meeting.

Online Water/Sewer Payments
A growing number of residents have requested the ability to check the status of their water and sewer accounts before making a payment. You can currently make payments online; however, the system does not have a login ability, so you need to know your account number, address, phone number, and exact payment amount. In addition, there is always a fee for using your debit card online, over the phone, or in person. Use the following link to be redirected to the Deer Park City water payment page: DPGazette.com/dpwaterpay

Sources:

GovPay DPGazette.com/dpwaterpay Accessed April 26th, 2022
YouTube City Council Meeting https://youtu.be/sveaJOPwpqk Recorded April 20th, 2022

Caleb Stapp, Chuck Zimmerman, Deer Park City Council, Helen Dee Cragun, Jason Upchurch, Tim Verzal

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Deer Park