Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 92-066 - Establishing and adopting a policy on the collection of delinquent utility accounts RESOLUTION NO. Z Co I A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING ESTABLISHING AND ADOPTING A POLICY ON THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY ACCOUNTS. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Redding is charged with the responsibility of establishing municipal policies to guide the various functions of the City and, where necessary, to establish procedures by which functions are performed; and I WHEREAS, regulatory policies established by the City Council are usually adopted by Ordinance and included in the Municipal Code. However, other policies are also established, which by their nature do not require adoption by Ordinance; these policy statements, adopted by Resolution of the City Council, need to be consolidated in a reference document for easy access; and WHEREAS, on August 4 , 1987 , by Resolution No. 87-261, City Council adopted a Council Policy Manual to achieve said objectives; and WHEREAS, City Council wishes to establish a policy on the i collection of delinquent utility accounts; NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Redding as follows: 1 . That all of the above recitals are true and correct. t i c 6`' 2 . That the Policy attached hereto be and hereby is adopted as the Council Policy pertaining to the Collection of Delinquent Utility Accounts. 3 . That said Policy be incorporated in the Council Policy Manual. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was introduced and read at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Redding on the 18th day of February , 1992, and was duly adopted at said meeting by the following vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Arness, Carter, Fulton & Moss NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Dahl ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None i CHARLIE MOSS, Vice-Mayor City of Redding I ATTEST: CONNIE STROHMAYER, C' Clerk FORM PROVED: ALL A. HAYS, Ci6y Attorney 2 Amended 11/19/96 by Resolution No. 96-207 Amended 08/03/99 by Resolution No. 99-109 u � CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY ACCOUNTS 1 I BACKGROUND The Customer Service Department is charged with the responsibility of administering the utility billing and collection system for the electric utility, water utility, wastewater and solid waste. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to formalize procedures for the collection of delinquent utility accounts. POLICY Utility bills for services rendered by the City of Redding utilities shall be mailed to customers on a monthly basis as a unified bill for all utility services provided. i Delinquency: All bills so rendered shall become and be deemed delinquent if unpaid 20 days after the date of mailing during the period in which the customer is establishing credit with the City. A credit code based on the customer' s payment record, will determine when delinquency reminders, demands, and notices shall be executed and when delinquent penalties shall be imposed. Bills for new customers will be deemed delinquent if unpaid 20 days after the date of mailing and the customer will be assigned a i credit code of 0. 'i New customers who do not pay utility statements within 20 days after the date of mailing for six consecutive months will be assigned a credit code of 2. Credit code 2 accounts will be deemed delinquent if unpaid 20 days after the date of mailing. Customers paying bills within 20 days after the mailing date for six consecutive months will be assigned a credit code of 4. Credit code 4 accounts will be deemed delinquent if their bill remains unpaid for 30 days. jCustomers paying bills within 20 days after the mailing date for 12 consecutive months will be assigned a credit code of 6. Credit code 6 accounts will be deemed delinquent if their bill remains unpaid for 60 days. .I CR 0049 'I CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT !� UTILITY ACCOUNTS 2 Bills for governmental agencies will be deemed delinquent if the bill remains unpaid for 60 days after date of mailing and will be assigned a credit code of 8. Notification of Termination of Services: In compliance with Public Utilities Code Section 10010.1, all accounts deemed to be delinquent will be given a ten-day demand ji notice. This notice will be sent by first class mail to the customer' s current mailing address, allowing an additional five days for mailing. u it If the delinquent bill has not been paid and an extension has not been approved by the utility department within the fifteen-day period, in compliance with the Public Utilities Code Section 10010. 1, a written notice of termination of service will be delivered to the customer' s premises at least 48 hours prior to termination, or the customer will be so notified through personal contact by telephone or in person at least 24 hours prior to termination. Whenever a 48-hour notice of termination is delivered to the customer' s premises, a delinquent on-site delivery fee will be imposed. If the bill remains unpaid and a payment extension has not been authorized by the utility department at the conclusion of the 24- or 48-hour period as specified to the customer, utility services will be terminated on the following working day. Third Party Notification: A third-party notification service will be provided by the City for all residential customers who are 65 years of age or older, or who are dependent adults as defined in Section 15610 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The City utility department will attempt to notify a person so designated by the customer when the customer' s account is past due and subject to termination. The notification shall specify information on what is required to prevent termination of service. Dispute of Utility Billing: Whenever a customer has issued a complaint or requested an investigation into his or her utility charges within five days of 'i receiving the disputed bill, utility services will not be terminated for nonpayment while such complaint or investigation is pending. CR 0049 CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY I RESOLUTION SOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY ACCOUNTS 3 I The customer will be contacted by the City utility department by itelephone, in person, or via first class mail with an explanation of the disputed charges within ten days after receiving the complaint or request for investigation. II If, after receiving said explanation, the customer still believes the bill to be incorrect, the customer may request a hearing with a review manager of the utility department who shall make a determination on the customer' s complaint or request for investigation. The review manager shall also consider whether the customer shall be permitted to amortize the unpaid amount over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed twelve months. Permission to amortize the unpaid balance for more than twelve months must be approved by the Director of Utility Customer Service. I Any customer whose request for a hearing by a utility department review manager has resulted in an adverse determination may appeal to the Redding City Council within 30 days after the review manager' s determination. Master Meter Notification of Non-Payment Termination: Whenever electric or water services are furnished to customers through a master meter where the owner or manager is the utility' s customer, the utility department will make every good faith effort to inform the actual users of these services if the account becomes delinquent and subject to termination. Notification will be given to users at least ten days prior to the scheduled termination of i services. The City utility will continue to provide service to the actual users if one or more are willing to assume responsibility for the entire account and have met the utility department' s conditions for service. The actual users will not be required to pay the owner' s or manager' s delinquent account as a condition of establishing utility service. Medical Certification of Life-Threatening Situation: r Residential utility services will not be terminated for nonpayment of any bill if the customer asserts that payment of such bill within the normal period of time is beyond his or her means, and the customer has provided a signed statement from a licensed physician or surgeon to the utility department prior to termination that such action would result in a life-threatening situation to the customer. CR 0049 I CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY ACCOUNTS 4 i j Inability to Pay Utility Bills: I Any residential customer who has notified the utility department ' prior to termination for nonpayment that he or she is unable to pay within the normal payment period will be allowed to amortize the unpaid amount over a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 12 months. The customer will be required to pay the amortized amount plus the current utility charges each month. Failure to pay the ,I amortized amount plus the current charges each month will nullify the amortization agreement, and the customer will be required to pay the entire outstanding balance. Amortization of an unpaid balance for a period of more than 12 months must be approved by the Director of Utility Customer Service. Nonpayment Reconnection: Utility services disconnected for nonpayment will be reconnected upon payment of the entire amount due, which shall include all delinquent utility charges, fees, and penalties. Utility services will not be restored to a customer until all conditions for service have been satisfied. All new customers applying for utility services at a location where utilities have been terminated as a result of nonpayment of account must provide the utility department with proper identification and a signed rental agreement from the property owner or landlord. New customers will be required to sign a utility service contract. Multiple Tenant Occupancy: The names of multiple tenants residing at the same residential location (roommates) shall be provided to the utility department as a condition of receiving utility services. All occupants of legal age are jointly and severally responsible for the charges for 1 utility services incurred while in residence. II If the City has terminated utility services for nonpayment at a location where multiple tenants had been occupying a single residential unit, such utility services will not be reinstated for a new customer until proof is provided by the owner or landlord that all the previous tenants financially responsible for the delinquent utility charges have moved. 1 Whenever one or more of those tenants responsible for the accumulation of outstanding utility charges continues to residt- at- CR 0049 I • 0. CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY ACCOUNTS 5 I such location, the delinquent charges must be paid in full before utility services will be reinstated. If those tenants move to another address within the City' s utility service area, the utility department will actively pursue collection procedures, up to and including termination of current utility services at the new location, from any and/or all of those tenants who resided at the previous address where outstanding utility charges were incurred. Closed Delinquent Accounts: A closing statement is deemed delinquent if unpaid 20 days after the date of mailing. If the delinquent bill has not been paid and an extension has not been approved by the utility department, accounts will automatically receive three successive pre-collection demand letters from a collection agency during a 30-day period. _ All monies and/or correspondence received during this 30-day period will be forwarded directly to the City' s utility. At the conclusion of the 30-day pre-collection letter service period, the City' s utility will actively pursue collection through one or more of the following procedures: 1. Skip tracing, running credit reports, verification of employment, and contact with the customer via telephone and/or written correspondence. 2. Filing of small claims action seeking a judgement to garnish wages, lien personal or real property, or tap bank accounts and/or daily receipts. i 3 . Assignment of the delinquent account to a collection agency. i I I CR 0049 I�