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Meeting Date: 10/28/92 Agenda Item: P -4 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS REQUEST FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ITEM DESCRIPTION: Change in ambulance billing procedure SUBMITTED BY: Tom Kelly, City Accountant Dee Swenson, Secretary REVIEWED BY: Susan Hoyt, Administrator EXPLANATION /SUMMARY: The new ambulance billing program has been working great. Users of the service are billed the Friday following the call and receive a statement each month until paid. This procedure has increased the payments for the service as follows: 12/31)91 10/20/92 Payments Received $37,179.67 $40,725.74 On the Books as Receivables 44,069.53 19,318.58 Of the $19,318.58 still owed the city, $5,632.42 (29% or 25 bills) currently are scheduled for conciliation court for collection after 180 days or six city notices. This is a very time consuming, costly and an ineffective approach to collecting these bills. A form must be filled out for each bill with a filing fee of at least $18.00 or more per person ($450 for 25 bills). Also, someone must appear in court to represent Falcon Heights. Therefore, staff proposes to turn these bills over to Transworld Systems Collection Agency after 120 days or four city notices to improve the return on these outstanding bills. The proposal is for: Accounts past due by four months would be reviewed by staff for unusual circumstances before being turned over to the agency. 398 for 40 past due bills ($9.95 charge /bill). The $9.95 would be added to the past due bills by the city. Any bills collected would go to the city. The agency would send out five non threatening but increasingly firm notes for the bill. No telephone calls would be made. The agency serves four other Minnesota cities. Collecting even two of the outstanding bills of about $350 each would pay for the service. The service will be re- evaluated in one year. Conciliation court is still an option after this process.