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Buckner to trial collections for aged water debts; July 4 meeting canceled
Summary
The board approved a trial mass-collection effort for long-dormant water accounts and voted to cancel the July 4 meeting; staff will return with ordinance language and thresholds.
The Board of Aldermen voted to try using a collection agency on long-dormant water accounts as a trial measure. Finance officer Natalie Friendly said the city has a backlog of inactive or disconnected accounts (about 135 accounts initially in the 120-plus days category) and that the city lacks in-house resources for skip tracing and legal collection protocols.
Natalie described vendor fee structures (examples given during discussion included contingency fees around 35% and higher tiers when legal action is required) and said the average outstanding balance on many skip accounts is about $100, with a handful in the $500–$1,600 range. Council members discussed setting a minimum threshold (comments ranged from $100 up to $500 for legal action) and recommended a limited trial on older accounts before instituting regular use of vendors. A motion to conduct a trial mass referral of year-or-older accounts was made, seconded and passed by voice vote.
Separately, the board moved to cancel the July 4 meeting; that motion also passed by voice vote.
Staff was asked to return with proposed ordinance language or threshold recommendations and to provide details about vendor selection and expected recoveries.
