City of Kitchener amping up push to go paperless

The City of Kitchener wants cut down on unnecessary postage. CTV’s Karis Mapp has more on their mail mission.

The City of Kitchener is trying to cut down on the cost of postage by convincing more residents to switch to paperless billing.

The city said it spent approximately $1,000,000 on postage last year. Eighty per cent of that cost was attributed to mailing out property tax and utility bills.

“There’s also paper costs that are increasing significantly,” Saleh Saleh, Kitchener’s revenue director, said. “E-billing, or paperless billing, helps reduce some of those costs and reduce some of those pressures on the city.”

A staff report will be sent city council, suggesting three options to address the issue.

Two of the options would include charging a $2 fee for mailing out paper statements.

However, staff are recommending a third option which focuses on a marketing campaign and social media blitz.

Fifty per cent of Kitchener’s taxpayers are already enrolled in e-billing, but some still have reservations.

“My understanding is seniors are one group of residents that will have difficulties transitioning,” Saleh said.

A seniors’ advocate said many older adults are not used to doing business on their computers.

“They hear a lot about the scams and frauds that are perpetrated online,” Bill VanGorder, from the Canadian Association of Retired People, said. “They’re just not comfortable yet and don’t want to learn or know about doing business online.”

He said it may be a hard sell.

“If you’re of an age and you’ve been doing the same thing for 70 or 80 years, then being forced to change, this just is not recognizing their dignity and what they’ve earned in terms of their contributions to society over the years.”

City council will discuss the issue on Monday.