AgdaPkt 2008-02-11 Clsd and Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.28 Should water services be discontinued for non-payment, the following service Page 2 reconnection charges (established by Council in May 1999) are required in addition to full payment on the account to restore services: $20.00 for re-instituting service following the first discontinuance $50.00 following second discontinuance $75.00 following third discontinuance $100.00 following fourth discontinuance, or each discontinuance in excess of fourth discontinuance Furthermore, if services are discontinued because of an unpaid returned check, an additional non-sufficient fund service fee of $15.00 is required. These charges and requirements are outlined in Attachment 1, resolution 13621 of May 10, 1999. In addition to the right to discontinue utility services, the City shall have the right to collect the unpaid utility charges from the owners or occupants of such premises at its discretion by any appropriate legal action. On December 12, 2007, staff presented the long-standing practices of utility billing and service shut-off processes to the City Council Utilities Committee. Staff also presented to the Committee a survey of how other cities are handling their billing process and delinquent accounts. This survey was comprised of 22 cities and 14 water districts. Out of these 36 jurisdictions, 29 of them have shut-off procedures once the accounts are delinquent. The delinquency ranges from 20 days to 90 days - median and average number of days after issuance of utility bills was 46 days. City of Redwood City currently shuts off services after 42 days from the issuance of the initial bills. The Committee took the survey into consideration and agreed to shut off utility services once an account is 17 days delinquent, which is 47 days after the utility bills are issued. Furthermore, the Committee instructed staff to mail the shut-off notices rather than delivering them to the customers' premises, which is our current practice. Staff will mail the shut-off notices on Mondays followed by automated phone calls 24 hours prior to the actual shut-off. The shut-offs will be scheduled on Tuesday of the following week. The Committee also instructed staff to implement a new reconnection policy. If payment for an account has not been received, or a payment arrangement has not been made by 3:00 p.m. of a regular business day, water service for the account will not be restored until the following business day between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ALTERNATIVES The Council may elect not to approve these long-standing office practices in which case staff will not have a formal policy to rely upon if challenged by a rate payer. FISCAL IMPACT None. 2