Commissioners reaffirmed their commitment Thursday to reducing high delinquency rates of Union-Rome Sewer District bills.

Saturday, June 10, 2000

Commissioners reaffirmed their commitment Thursday to reducing high delinquency rates of Union-Rome Sewer District bills.

Letters mailed recently to the district’s 3,800 customers explained that bills not paid on time would be subject to a 15 percent late payment penalty, rather than the current 1 percent, commission president Bruce Trent said at the board’s Thursday meeting.

The commission voted to change the penalty in May.

"What we’re trying to do is get the delinquency reduced and improve the cash flow of the system to meet our financial obligations," Trent said.

Sewer bills will not increase because rates are not increasing – but the new delinquency charge will be enforced, he said.

"We’re going to strick enforcement of collections."

At Thursday’s commission meeting, Trent read several letters from customers who complained about the new delinquency rate or felt fearful that the step was a move to increase usage rates altogether.

"We will not raise rates but we will make sure we collect in an aggressive manner," Trent said.

Commissioner Paul Herrell also stressed that the increase involves the delinquency charge only. Herrell said he would not support a hike in usage rates.

The idea to boost collections and cash flow by targeting delinquent sewer users surfaced earlier this year.

A group of users – the Union-Rome Sewer Advisory Committee – studied the system for some time, then reported that its 40 percent delinquency rate was bleeding the district’s budget.

Each year, there is less carryover money from the previous sewer district budget, meaning the county cannot afford to let bills lie uncollected, the committee said.

The projection this year indicated that the district operations may end up in the red, members said.

Past due bills can be collected by linking the amount owed to the user’s property tax bill – part of a state law that allows past due amounts to be collected by the auditor before collecting property taxes.

Both committee members and commissioners, though, wanted to encourage users not to let past due bills get to that point, so the committee recommended the 14 percent late payment penalty hike.

That action is meant to urge customers to pay on time but ultimately should lower the system’s delinquency rate, Trent said Thursday.

"We want to encourage delinquent customers to make payments in a timely manner," he said.

Commissioners voted to respond to those customers who wrote the county about the situation by sending them another explanation letter.

Meanwhile, the county might farm out the management of the sewer district to improve collections and efficiency.

Budget shortfalls are pushing that idea, commissioners have said.

Last month, American Water Services Inc. of Pennsylvania proposed a management method it says could save the county between $8,000 and $55,000 per year, depending on which plan is used.

Commissioners and sewer district administrators reviewed drafts of the management proposals, but the county has yet to take any action.