Finance asks commissioners to approve $2.34 million ambulance receivable write-off; collection efforts to continue

Cabarrus County finance staff asked the Board of Commissioners to approve an accounting write-off of $2,337,742.28 in ambulance accounts receivable from fiscal year 2021, saying the action would better reflect the county’s collectible balance while not ending collection efforts.

Jen Howden of the finance department told the board the department annually reviews ambulance accounts receivable and “historically, we've determined that anything over 4 years old is uncollectible, so we're asking the board to approve a write off for fiscal year 2021's balance of $2,337,742.28.” She emphasized the entry was “truly an accounting entry” and that names and reasons for nonpayment are not part of the write-off item.

Howden said the third-party administrator and EMS staff will continue attempts to collect the balances after the accounting write-off. Commissioners asked whether write-offs reduce collection activity; Howden and other staff said EMS pursues debt-setoff and other legal avenues when available. Howden said the department did not have a breakdown at the meeting of whether the balance represents many small bills or a few large accounts but offered to obtain aggregate information and coordinate with Jimmy Lentz to provide that data.

Why this matters: The write-off changes the county’s accounts receivable reporting and could affect how the county measures collectible revenue from EMS services, but staff said it does not preclude ongoing collection activity.

No formal vote on the write-off occurred at the work session; the board moved the matter to the consent agenda for the regular meeting and asked staff to supply more aggregated detail about the receivable composition.