HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-12-058 - Uncollectable Utility Accounts Write-offREPORT TO:Mayor C. Zehr and Members of Council
DATE OF MEETING:
April 23, 2012
SUBMITTED BY: D. Chapman, Deputy CAO and City Treasurer
PREPARED BY:
S. Saleh, Supervisor of Collections and Payment Processing
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: March 5, 2012
REPORT NO.:
FCS-12-058
SUBJECT:
Uncollectable Utility Accounts Write-off
RECOMMENDATION:
That uncollectable Utility Accounts, amounting to $39,706 be written off against the
Allowance for Doubtful Utility Receivables
BACKGROUND:
Utility receivable represent invoices generally billed through the City’s Customer Information
System (CIS). The majority of these invoices relate to usage for Gas and Water. The current
report represents write-off of utility accounts which have been deemed to be uncollectable up to
the end of December 2011.
REPORT:
Staff are recommending that accounts totalling $39,706 be written off and forwarded to the
collection agency. Staff have worked diligently in attempting to collect on these accounts but
have not been successful either due to the customer declaring bankruptcy or having no
forwarding address. Any tenant deposits previously received on the uncollectable accounts
have been applied to reduce the debt outstanding.
The cumulative amount of utility write-offs for 2011 equal $80,544 and represent 0.0459% of the
total dollars invoiced for the year. This is well below the targeted upper limit for write-offs set at
0.3% previously approved by Council.
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A five year summary of write-offs is included in the table below.
Utility Accounts Write-off
CumulativeTotal $ InvoicedWrite-offs as a
Write-offs for the YearYear to Date% of Sales
2011$ 80,544$175,373,5560.0459%
2010
131,478167,313,9370.0786%
2009 148,572164,227,0000.0905%
2008 153,746161,658,0000.0951%
2007 152,118148,670,0000.1023%
Total$ 666,457$817,242,4930.0815%
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Foundation: Effective and Efficient Government
Goal: Financial Management
Strategic Direction: Initiate corporate wide customer service standards and policies to ensure
consistent levels of service in all departments and locations.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The uncollectable accounts will be written off against the Allowance for Doubtful Utility
Receivables account.
CONCLUSION:
It has been determined that $39,706 of utility accounts are uncollectable and staff are
recommending that the accounts be written off to the Allowance for Doubtful Utility Receivable
account. The uncollectable account listing will be forwarded to a collection agency, which will
use their best efforts to collect these accounts.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: D. Chapman, Deputy CAO, Finance and Corporate Services & City
Treasurer
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