Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utility Billing Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kearney reports routine August finances; utility audit finds billing gaps and plans for disconnections
Summary
Finance staff reported fiscal-year spending near expected levels; utility billing staff described an audit uncovering missing reads, inactive accounts with usage, duplicate accounts and one irrigation meter omission that produced a $3,000 backbill. Staff intends to publish a disconnection schedule and payment-arrangement policy to avoid surprise shutoffs.
Finance Director Stephanie Harris reported to the Kearney Board of Aldermen on Oct. 7 that fiscal-year spending is tracking near expectations (about 42% through the fiscal year at the August report) and that September receipts suggest sales tax will increase for that month.
Utility billing clerk Molly McCauley presented an audit of billing and meter-read data since joining staff. She said roughly 25% of meter reads were not importing automatically and that staff had found instances of bills with no charge, negative charges, extraordinarily high residential bills, duplicate location numbers and accounts remaining on a builder rate after homeowners assumed service. McCauley said she discovered an irrigation meter that had not been active and billed and that back billing for that account exceeded $3,000.
To address data quality and customer-impact issues, staff said they have begun daily reports to detect leaks, meter noncommunication, and inactive accounts with usage, and they plan to touch all accounts by year end. McCauley described a phased approach to restorations and collections: offering payment arrangements, implementing a published shutoff schedule (proposed third Thursday of each month) and enforcing reconnection fees ($25 standard plus $25 after-hours). She emphasized compassion and advance notice to customers while enforcing the ordinance's disconnect eligibility (staff noted the ordinance allows eligibility for shutoff after 30 days past due, though McCauley recommended enforcing at 60 days for disconnect status and using payment arrangements for earlier delinquencies).
The board invited staff to draft a comprehensive payment-arrangement and shutoff policy for aldermanic review to ensure consistent treatment and to minimize the number of households experiencing long-term loss of service.
