Finance committee forwards policy to write off long-uncollectible utility accounts

Brendan, a city staff member, told the committee the city has records of 1,801 delinquent utility accounts accumulated over a 23-year period with a total face value of about $486,000.

"We have records back 23 years... and in that amount of time, there have been 1,801 delinquent accounts... and the total value of those is about 486,000," Brendan said, and said the auditor recommended adopting a formal write-off policy so the long-uncollectible debts do not remain indefinitely on the books.

Staff described current collection practices and the proposed thresholds: small balances (under $20 and one year old) would be considered uncollectible and not sent to collections; accounts over $20 that are three years old would be turned over to collections and then written off if not recovered. Staff also said the city maintains a database of written-off accounts and checks it when a new service is requested to prevent serial nonpayment.

The policy defines approval tiers for write-offs: staff approval for lower amounts, the city manager for mid-range write-offs, and council approval for amounts over $50,000; staff noted the largest delinquent account currently in the list is about $11,000. A committee member moved to forward the proposed policy to the full council with a recommendation for approval; the motion was approved by voice vote.