A change to a clerk position may get the city back on track to recover funds from water bill delinquents.
During last week's meeting, the Auburn City Council agreed to upgrade two part-time clerks to full time, one in the water billing office and the other in the city clerk's office.
The water billing office's responsibilities have increased, making the need to have two full-time clerks, rather than one, Comptroller Lisa Green said.
The department is responsible for collecting garbage fees from non-profit organizations, which are added to water bills. Also, the office is busier with the recently passed policy of shutting off water to debtors. The policy allows the city to turn off water utilities if homeowners do not pay their bills or respond to 30-day and 60-day notices of non-payment.
Workers in the water billing office have to keep track of who should receive the first notice, as well as who pays at that point. Also, employees make special notes in homeowners' files when they make arrangements to pay, Green said.
The workers have to check the records for this note to see who should get a follow up 60-day shut off memo.
Then, they have to tell the Public Works Department after determining who will get their water turned off.
“It's a manual process,” Green said.
The city sent out 600 flyers informing people they had 30 days to pay their water bills. The council did not direct Green to carry out the next step, a 60-day notice stating the city will cut off utilities in 10 days, although some homeowners have far exceeded this deadline.
The billing office doesn't have enough employees to continue this process because its part-time workers left, but will work a few hours each week. The remaining employee, a full-time worker, will retire at the end of the week.
“Until we get the billing office situated with new personnel ... we don't have the resources,” Green said.
Both Green and City Manager Mark Palesh say threatening to turn off water is still an option that's simply on hold.
“The procedure is in place. Once we get the staff (we can) send out the shut off notices,” Green said.
She needs direction from city council before mailing the next round of flyers.
With the threat of living without water, many taxpayers rushed to city hall to see if they could make arrangements to pay their outstanding water bills after the 30-day notices.
Only about half the 600 delinquent customers contacted the city, coming up with $47,000.
That leaves nearly 60 percent of outstanding water bills still owed to the city, totaling about $80,000.
City officials speculated why half the people ignored the notice, some because of tenant/landlord confusion, some because of the lack of resources to pay, and some who want to wait to see what the city would do.
Councilors want to make sure this broad policy still allows the city to work with owners who may not be able to pay their bills in one installment.
“City council is emphatic we do everything we can to work with people,” Palesh said.
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
The water billing office's responsibilities have increased, making the need to have two full-time clerks, rather than one, Comptroller Lisa Green said.
The department is responsible for collecting garbage fees from non-profit organizations, which are added to water bills. Also, the office is busier with the recently passed policy of shutting off water to debtors. The policy allows the city to turn off water utilities if homeowners do not pay their bills or respond to 30-day and 60-day notices of non-payment.
Workers in the water billing office have to keep track of who should receive the first notice, as well as who pays at that point. Also, employees make special notes in homeowners' files when they make arrangements to pay, Green said.
The workers have to check the records for this note to see who should get a follow up 60-day shut off memo.
Then, they have to tell the Public Works Department after determining who will get their water turned off.
“It's a manual process,” Green said.
The city sent out 600 flyers informing people they had 30 days to pay their water bills. The council did not direct Green to carry out the next step, a 60-day notice stating the city will cut off utilities in 10 days, although some homeowners have far exceeded this deadline.
The billing office doesn't have enough employees to continue this process because its part-time workers left, but will work a few hours each week. The remaining employee, a full-time worker, will retire at the end of the week.
“Until we get the billing office situated with new personnel ... we don't have the resources,” Green said.
Both Green and City Manager Mark Palesh say threatening to turn off water is still an option that's simply on hold.
“The procedure is in place. Once we get the staff (we can) send out the shut off notices,” Green said.
She needs direction from city council before mailing the next round of flyers.
With the threat of living without water, many taxpayers rushed to city hall to see if they could make arrangements to pay their outstanding water bills after the 30-day notices.
Only about half the 600 delinquent customers contacted the city, coming up with $47,000.
That leaves nearly 60 percent of outstanding water bills still owed to the city, totaling about $80,000.
City officials speculated why half the people ignored the notice, some because of tenant/landlord confusion, some because of the lack of resources to pay, and some who want to wait to see what the city would do.
Councilors want to make sure this broad policy still allows the city to work with owners who may not be able to pay their bills in one installment.
“City council is emphatic we do everything we can to work with people,” Palesh said.
Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or
jessica.soule@lee.net
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james_13021 wrote on Nov 30, 2007 5:31 AM: