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Hartshorne PWA identifies long-running overdue utility accounts; $3,000 sent to collections
Summary
Council members heard that some water and sewer accounts date to 2018–2019, that zero-reading meters required averaging, and that about $3,000 was sent to collections; staff said five-year-old balances can be uncollectible.
The Hartshorne Public Works Authority on Oct. 1 discussed a backlog of overdue utility accounts, with staff reporting that some delinquencies date back to 2018–2019 and older balances may be uncollectible after five years. Catherine Bailey, who spoke about billing and meter issues, told the council that the authority recently sent roughly $3,000 worth of accounts to collections and that some meters were reporting zero and required averaged readings.
Council Member Sheryl Baker pressed for more detail on the aging accounts and asked for lists from collections beyond the 90-day report; Baker said the 90-day report includes accounts as far back as 2018 and cited concern about the size of the outstanding balance. Mayor Ashley Faulkner noted she had asked the CPA to review PWA revenue reporting because the mix of zero-read meters and averaged usage may be skewing results. The council did not take a formal action on collections procedures at the Oct. 1 meeting.
