TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Steve S. Charelian, Finance Director
Henry Mitzner, Controller
Cynthia Mickschl, Revenue Services Specialist
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Modification to Existing Write-Off Approval Increments (Finance Director Charelian)
APPROVE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
The Finance Subcommittee and City staff recommend that the City Council approve modification to the existing write-off approval increments.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Increasing the approval increments will allow staff to submit delinquent accounts to our collection agency more quickly, which has been shown to positively correlate with an increase in collection rates.
BACKGROUND:
The write-off authorization limits currently in place were approved by the Finance Subcommittee and City Council in 2011. At that time, the write-off authorization limits were appropriate given the invoice amounts being issued by the City. These limits are up to $2,500 for the Finance Director, and up to $7,500 for the Finance Subcommittee. Items over $7,501 are approved by City Council.
On February 27, 2019, the Finance Subcommittee approved a modification to increase theses limits to up to $5,000 for the Finance Director, and up to $10,000 for the Finance Subcommittee. All items over $10,001 would be approved by City Council. These updated amounts reflect the increase over the past eight years in the City's average invoice amount, primarily for ambulance billing accounts.
DISCUSSION:
While the recommended write-off amounts apply to all City-issued invoices for services, the primary purpose is to address delinquent ambulance billings. Currently, the City invoices a base rate for a single event ambulance billing transport at $2,282 for an advance life support (ALS) transport. In addition to this base rate, there are often ancillary fees for special equipment o...
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