University City council approves $600,000 loan to cover solid-waste payroll shortfall

The University City City Council on Feb. 23 approved a $600,000 interfund loan from the general fund to the solid-waste fund to cover four payroll cycles while the interim city manager investigates ongoing cash-flow problems.

Interim City Manager Scharff told the council the fund “continues to struggle with cash flow, and it is unable to meet payroll,” and said the requested loan would “cover 4 payroll cycles and give me essentially 2 months to dive into this issue to determine what's going on and report back to you all.” She noted the council ratified a separate $300,000 loan in January and that a rate increase is scheduled in March.

Council members pressed for detail. Council member Clay asked whether delinquencies in solid-waste billing were contributing to the shortfall. Scharff said that delinquencies and collections practices “might be contributing,” adding that some internal processes were not being enforced and that one route had about 200 delinquency notices. She said hiring an external collection company was an option under consideration but would itself carry costs.

Council member Smotherson recommended considering outsourcing collections to improve enforcement efficiency; Scharff said she would take that option under consideration and emphasized the request for two months to return with recommendations.

Council member Clay moved to approve the loan; Council member Fuller seconded. The measure passed by voice vote.

The council approved the loan by voice vote and the city manager will return with findings and recommendations after the two-month review period.