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Hooper staff proposes using outside collector for overdue utility accounts
Summary
City staff recommended contracting with Bonneville Collections to pursue long-unpaid utility accounts; council members asked for more detail and plan to discuss further at upcoming budget meetings.
Hooper City staff told the council Thursday they are exploring a contract with Bonneville Collections to collect long-delinquent utility accounts and reduce annual write-offs.
Monica Barnes, the city'0s utility clerk, joined staff discussion on arrears and said the collections firm charges an additional collection fee that is billed to the resident, not the city. The firm'0s standard fee percentage presented in staff materials was 33.33% of the collected amount.
Why it matters: The city said it currently issues late notices and shutoff warnings, but staff spend significant time managing accounts that remain unpaid for months. Because sewer service cannot be turned off, the city must rely on billing and other remedies for some charges. Staff reported multiple accounts at high balances and said the city sometimes writes off bad debt at year end.
Staff described current practice: the city issues notices every other month and proceeds to shutoff only after a second notice and a short cure period. The city can work payment agreements but said residents sometimes pay a token amount (for example $10) and then fall behind again, which prevents shutoff. Staff told the council the collections vendor can report to credit and pursue balances that may otherwise be written off.
Council members asked for more detail on how the collections vendor operates, including whether the vendor buys debt or merely collects on the city'0s behalf; staff said Bonneville would collect on the city'0s behalf and keep the collection fee portion. Members also asked for a clearer accounting of the city'0s historical write-offs and the number and dollar amounts of delinquent accounts. Staff said they would provide itemized historic write-off information and bring a procurement or contract proposal to the council and budget meeting for further review.
Staff said legal remedies are a last step; city attorney Brandon would handle cases where the city sought a lien or legal action. Council members agreed to continue discussion at the budget meeting and to request a more detailed report on amounts owed, projected recovery rates, and contract terms before the council commits to signing a collection agreement.
Ending: The council did not take formal action on a contract at the meeting but instructed staff to prepare a full proposal and historical account summary for the council'0s upcoming budget discussions.
