Throughout each fiscal year, the City accumulates various types of
uncollectible revenue as a result of accounts being terminated,
individuals filing for bankruptcy, businesses becoming inactive, or
balances being outstanding over 180 days. These amounts are subject
to write-off at the end of each fiscal year.
Background:
This process is an accounting procedure following the Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which lays the framework of
accounting practices in the U.S. In applying GAAP accounting
principles, the act of writing off outstanding account balances is a
necessary accounting function that leads to an accounting adjustment
on the City’s Financial Statements to accurately show the outstanding
balance and the expectation of timely collection is unlikely. If a
customer’s account has been written off as uncollectible on the City
Financial Statements, this does not erase or forgive the debt. The City
can and does collect some portion of the amount owed by those
customers through several methods. If it is an owner-occupied location,
liens can be filed with the Clerk of Court and will be per the Write-Off of
Uncollectible Accounts Policy of 2025. These liens are typically
satisfied when the property is conveyed. For tenant accounts, when the
customer requests new utility services, we attempt to collect any
outstanding balance prior to establishing a new service.
The City provides utility services to over 38,000 customers and the
monthly billing is settled in arrears (after usage has occurred). Since
services are provided before receiving payment, inevitably, the City has
customers that do not pay for the services provided. When this occurs,
staff makes every possible attempt to reach out to the customer to
collect the outstanding payment, including follow-up notices to remind
them of the outstanding balance and encourage payment. However, the
longer the customer account goes without payment, the less likely that
any payment will be received. This is an annual request and was last
approved by the Commission for a write-off (accounting adjustment) in
February 2025.
The amount requested for adjustment is $242,337.86 as of January 15,
2026. This amount changes daily as accounts might be paid prior to the
Commission’s action. The outstanding amount includes:
·
·
·
·
·
·
3,032 accounts (Residential 2,995 and 37 commercial)
Residential accounts of $225,039.97
Commercial accounts of $17,297.89
The average delinquency is $79.93
Accounts over $1,000 - 16 accounts
It represents less than 0.775% of our annual billings for utility
services.
The last request for write-offs was in 2025 for accounts from
2004.
·
