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Committee votes to recommend write-off of two unpaid private-duty police receivables
Summary
The Operations Management, Budget and Government Accountability Committee voted unanimously to send to the full City Council a favorable recommendation to write off two unpaid receivables for private-duty police services: $50,457 from Veracity and $273,796.60 from Center Earth.
The Hartford City Operations Management, Budget and Government Accountability Committee voted unanimously Sept. 17 to send to the full City Council a favorable recommendation to write off two unpaid receivables for private-duty police services.
Julian Friend, director of budget, told the committee the first account is for Veracity, billing for private-duty police services invoiced between May and December 2019 for $50,457. The second is for Center Earth, for billings between July 2016 and January 2017 totaling $273,796.60. "We're requesting that both of these receivables be approved for write off by the city council," Friend said.
Friend said the city attempted to collect on the Veracity account for several years; the company filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and the bankruptcy case closed in December 2024 with the debt discharged. For Center Earth, Friend said the city pursued collections and later learned the debt had been released as part of a settlement involving Center Plan in October 2023 after corporation counsel reviewed the matter.
Committee members pressed staff for context on collection practices. Councilman John Gale asked how often private-duty billings exceed $50,000; Friend said he would need to review receivable details but that such totals are not unusual for larger projects. Council President Surgeon asked whether vendors typically pay upfront; Friend said most do not, that the city invoices after receiving hours and service details from the police department, and that the city requires advance payment only when vendors are 90 days past due.
Friend described current collection procedures: monthly statements, requirement of advance payment after 90 days of delinquency for repeat users, and referral to collections after 120 days. He said the office has been standardizing outreach and billing frequency to improve payment compliance.
After discussion, a motion to send the resolution back to the City Council with a favorable recommendation passed by voice vote. The committee will return the item to the council for consideration at a forthcoming council meeting.
