Discussing delinquency

Delinquent accounts were, again, a major point of discussion for the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) during their regular meeting on January 13. As was reported previously (see “Collecting on delinquent accounts” on page 1 of the December 16, 2020 Saratoga Sun), the topic of delinquent accounts was raised during the December 9 meeting of the joint powers board.

It was revealed during that meeting that the accounts ranged from 60 days past due to nearly three years in arrears. At the most recent meeting, Director of Public Works Jon Winter informed the SCCIJPB members about his process in reviewing the accounts.

“What I did is I went through and took the delinquent accounts and categorized them based on highest outstanding delinquent to lowest,” said Winter. “Basically put them all in order and working on getting some additional information that we can tie to them.”

That information included when notice was sent to delinquent account holders, how many had been sent out, whether or not the water had been turned off, and whether the property had liens on them or whether the property was in probate. Additionally, Winter had broken down the accounts into categories based on the amount owed to the Town of Saratoga with 15 accounts owing over $1,000.

“For the 15 accounts that are over $1,000, it’s $41,000 of the $67,000 that’s delinquent which represents a good 62 percent of the total,” Winter said. “Still working on that and going through the ordinance and figuring out how the Town would go forward on getting those delinquents paid up.” 

According to section 13.60.010(C)(2), one-third of the delinquent billing along with current billing is due on the 15th day of the month.

“Following the ordinance on the one-third payment after 60 days, the highest one would be $1,600 just to get one-third of its payment. It will be some interesting times when they start getting letters that would say ‘You owe your monthly fee of $60 plus $1,600’,” said Winter. 

Vice Chairman Craig Kopasz, who directed the meeting in the absence of Chairman Richard Raymer, stated that he believed it would be in the best interest of the joint powers board and the Town to work from the top down.

“Go through all those lists, make sure that they have been notified, make sure that—if nothing has happened—their water is off,” said Kopasz. “Go through that whole process on your checklist of the big money owers. If they’re not going to pay their bill, they should get their water shut off per town ordinance.” 

Winter informed Kopasz that Brenda Mistelske, assistant town clerk and treasurer for the Town of Saratoga, had told him that letters had been sent out to delinquent account holders in the past. He added that some of the delinquent accounts had been making payments but that they likely weren’t enough to zero out the account.

Councilmember Jon Nelson, who joined the meeting via teleconference, stated that he believed there were some accounts on the list that would need to be written off as bad debt. He added, however, that it shouldn’t include “anybody who is still consuming water.”

Discussion brought up at least one account that, while it had water turned off, was on a well of its own but still used sewer service. Using that account as an example, Kopasz asked if the SCCIJPB should consider finding a way to suspend sewer service to similar accounts.

“I think the lien is the appropriate action before we plug sewers, said Nelson.

Another issue raised was that of accounts between landlords and tenants. According to Winter, one such account had the tenant current on their water bill while the landlord was delinquent.

“I’m sure there’s some of those on down the road, some smaller ones,” said Winter.

While it was implied that, in such a case, the tenant should cease paying rent and pay the outstanding water bill, Kopasz stated that was between the tenant and landlord and that the only jurisdiction for the joint powers board was getting the water to the property.

In addition to discussing the outstanding accounts, the joint powers board discussed the $10 late charge as required by section 13.06.010(C) of the Saratoga Municipal Code.

“A late fee’s a late fee. You don’t pay your bill on time, you get charged a late fee with everything else you do,” said Kopasz.

“If we’re not charging it, we need to be charging it,” added Treasurer Russ Waldner.

While no formal action was taken on either the delinquent accounts or the late charge, the joint powers board recommended that the Town of Saratoga resume charging the late fee on delinquent accounts. Nelson advised that it would take some time due to the Town lacking both legal counsel and a town clerk.

The next meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board will be at 6 p.m. on February 10 at the Platte Valley Community Center.