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/aJ <br />Departmental Item <br />Indian River County, Florida <br />Department of Utility Services <br />Board Memorandum <br />Date: September 18, 2024 <br />To: John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator <br />From: Sean C. Lieske, Director of Utility Services <br />Prepared By: Bryan Beavers, Utility Finance Manager <br />Subject: Utility Accounts Receivable Bad Debt Write Offs and Foreclosure Activity <br />Background: <br />On March 9, 2021, a public hearing took place that resulted in modifications to County Code Section <br />201.22 that pertained to payment and collections of certain utility bills. These modifications gave <br />authorization to the Director of Utility Services to waive some, or all, penalties and interest on past -due <br />utility accounts and to make payment arrangements for settlement of said accounts. Modifications to <br />code also included language that provided staff with the authorization to seek final settlement, or <br />ultimately foreclosure, for any accounts that remained unsettled. <br />Analysis: <br />During fiscal year 2024, the Indian River County Department of Utility Services (IRCDUS) completed ten <br />settlement agreements with customers that had very delinquent accounts. These settlements resolved <br />$323,856.29 of the accounts receivable balance. To induce these settlements, IRCDUS agreed to waive <br />$294,466.60 of past due penalties and interest charges. Seven of the ten settlements have completed all <br />payment arrangements and are subject to a write-off of $160,458.03 in fiscal year 2024. Three of the ten <br />settlements have payment arrangements ongoing, and the final write-off amount cannot be determined <br />until the payment arrangements are completed. <br />Further, IRCDUS completed its first foreclosure sale on a past due account. This property was sold third <br />party at the foreclosure sale and the proceeds from the sale covered the entire past due balance of the <br />account. A second account was taken to foreclosure sale by another department within the county. The <br />result was a no -bid sale and the county acquired the property. The related IRCDUS account balance was <br />therefore fully written off earlier in the year. <br />Finally, there are 234 active IRCDUS accounts that are 120 days or more past due. Presently, 21 of the <br />most delinquent accounts have been referred to our foreclosure attorney to process a foreclosure. <br />106 <br />C:\G ran icus\Leg istar5\L5\Tem p\e207Oe8SA6b3-445d-a 90b-91fc5cOflaOa.doc <br />