Minutes - 2006/01/23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council January 23, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 18 • Councilmember Stigney asked for an example of the letter that was mailed out. Finance Director Beer stated that many of the items are four to five years old and are quite stale. He added that some of the individuals no longer live in the City. Councilmember Stigney stated that the insufficient checks regarding alarm violations is concerning. Councilmember Stigney referenced the Tom Thumb insufficient check and noted that the building was there but it is no longer called Tom Thumb. Finance Director Beer stated that staff cannot certify those checks against a building as it has to be an individual. He stated that the City can certify against a building for instances such as tree removal and delinquent utility bills, but in these cases the City cannot certify against the property. Mayor Marty questioned the stop payment regarding the utility billing. Finance Director Beer stated it was prior to the policy instituted at the City around utilities billing and the individual no longer lives in the City. Councilmember Thomas stated she thinks the City would spend a lot of money going after the delinquent accounts. She stated it is not that it is not a considerable amount of money, and it is unfair that the City is paying for these insufficient checks; however, she cannot justify spending . more staff time and tax dollars to chase dead ends. Councilmember Stigney stated his agreement with the collection agencies. He asked if there is something that can be done in the future to alleviate this problem. Finance Director Beer stated that steps were taken in 2003 to improve the process, and it has gotten better especially with the golf course items that were a significant source of NSF checks. Mayor Marty stated the total was $1,150 and he was concerned about the amount of staff time and postage to go after these delinquent accounts receivable. MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Thomas. To waive the reading and adopt Resolution 6719 Writing Off Uncollectible Accounts Councilmember Stigney stated he wanted to have a reading of the delinquent bills. He read the names and amounts of the insufficient and NSF checks. He also commented that he wanted the names to be added to website. Finance Director Beer stated that there were two individuals that had checks lost or stolen in a forgery situation. He stressed that even though their name was listed, they were not the ones writing the bad checks and are not responsible for amounts. • Councilmember Thomas stated she disagreed with putting the information on the website, as it is clutter and there is too much information on the website for residents to get through to the