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Council gives local business one week to sign repayment plan before collections referral
Summary
After staff reported a past‑due municipal account, the Hoyt Lakes council approved using a third‑party collection bureau if a local business does not sign a repayment agreement within a week; the transcript lists the account balance as $13,999.73.
City staff told the council that a local business’s unpaid account for municipal bag sales has an outstanding balance identified in the meeting record as $13,999.73 and that the city has received $5,000 in payments to date. Staff recommended engaging Range Credit Bureau — which the city uses for ambulance‑billing collections — to pursue the remaining balance if the business does not come to the city and sign a repayment agreement.
"My recommendation is we go with Range Credit Bureau who also does our collections for the EMS accounts," the City Administrator said, explaining the vendor’s contingency-fee structure and that the firm covers court and attorney costs if the case requires litigation.
Council members expressed reluctance to immediately refer the account to collections and discussed alternatives. One council member said the council should offer the business a short, final opportunity to formalize a repayment plan before escalation: "I wouldn't mind to work with them again ... give him a chance to come down and talk about it." The council approved a motion to give the business one week to sign an agreement; if the business does not do so by the deadline, staff were authorized to proceed with collections.
Staff and council discussed potential payment plan parameters (monthly payments, possible lump sums and a target closing date discussed in the meeting was Jan. 1), interest and whether interest would be assessed. The transcript shows those details were debated, and staff were asked to return with a specific proposal if the business requests to arrange payment rather than immediate collections.
The council’s action is procedural: it authorizes staff to proceed with the city’s standard collections contract after a brief opportunity for the business to sign a repayment agreement. The business was not present to respond on the record; no council member identified the business owner by name during this exchange.
