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Commission approves aging-report write-offs after divided vote; staff to pursue centralized collection approach
Summary
After a contested discussion, the commission voted 3-2 to approve staff-proposed aging-report write-offs for pre-2024 accounts and to pursue future collections under a common policy and request-for-proposals; commissioners who opposed sought greater specificity and preservation of collectible amounts.
Seward County commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a staff recommendation to clear certain long-standing accounts receivable records and to move toward a countywide collections approach and a request for proposals (RFP) for outside debt collection.
Amanda Kolb and Brock Feiner of the landfill presented an aging accounts receivable summary that, they said, reflected accounting and remittance irregularities dating back many years. Kolb said the gross figure in the aged-AR paper packet was $268,004.95 and explained that a substantial portion represented payments that had been posted to the wrong ledger or to finance charges due to a historical conversion and remittance problem. Kolb described work already completed to reconcile under-$100 items and to disable inappropriate finance charges.
Feiner and Kolb told commissioners the county’s prior bank-account change and staffing turnover had contributed to the posting errors. Kolb said the landfill and attendant business customers sometimes had payments applied to the latest charge rather than to the intended invoice; some large balances were not truly outstanding but appeared as such because credits and payments had been misapplied.
Commissioners discussed whether accounts older than the statute of limitations should be pursued and recommended a uniform county policy for when to refer delinquent accounts for outside collection. Several commissioners urged a centralized approach so collections and write-offs would be handled consistently across departments. Commissioner discussion also noted the workload required to reconcile historical records and the need to implement the county’s new billing software.
A motion to proceed with the aging-report write-offs (covering pre-2024 accounts presented in the agenda item) and to begin steps toward a countywide collection RFP carried on a 3-2 vote. The meeting record shows dissents; commissioners voting in opposition sought additional clarity on dollar amounts and preferred that some accounts be held for collection rather than written off. Staff said they will continue internal attempts to collect amounts that are still actively paying and will present a proposed RFP and a countywide bad-debt policy for future action.
