Council asks administration for comprehensive accounts-receivable report to improve contract enforcement and collections

Council members pressed the administration for a comprehensive report on outstanding fees, fines and invoices owed to the city and asked how contract enforcement and collections have been managed in recent years.

Council members said they first requested this information in September and that repeated requests have not produced a consolidated report. "We're not asking to pontificate," one councilmember said. "We're asking for answers ... we have to know what's owed to us so we can make collective decisions on the budget."

Acting Commissioner Raymore Nosworthy acknowledged the request and said compiling a citywide accounts-receivable report would require time and cross-departmental review but that the administration would work to provide a schedule and the requested documentation. He recommended a side conversation to scope the report and said the administration would determine the appropriate format and timing.

Committee members asked that the report include outstanding balances owed to the city, plans for recovery of those balances, and any administrative or legal steps taken to enforce collection. Some members proposed a 90- to 120-day target to produce the initial findings and asked law, DPIS and the controller's office to coordinate with administration on the deliverable.

The committee tabled the item pending administration follow-up and asked for notification when the report will be delivered, emphasizing that the information is needed before the budget cycle.