HomeMy WebLinkAboutWashington Collectors Tri-Cities Inc. - Collections ContractCITY OF PASCO
COLLECTION AGENCY CONTRACT
THIS CONTRACT is made and entered into by and between, the City of Pasco, a municipal
corporation of the State of Washington, hereinafter referred to as "City", and Washington Collectors
Tri -Cities, Inc., a collection agency duly licensed under and pursuant to the laws of the State of
Washington, hereinafter referred to as "Agent'.
RECITALS:
WHEREAS, City desires Agent to undertake the collection of delinquent accounts from time to time
in the manner and under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth; and
WHEREAS, the parties contemplate a future course of dealing as City and Agent, and desire to set
forth and define herein the mutual rights, obligations, and liabilities of the parties hereto in such
course of dealings;
NOW, THEREFOR, in consideration of the promises and of the mutual agreements of the parties
hereto, it is hereby agreed as follows:
1. AGENT APPOINTED:
City hereby appoints Agent as its agent to collect and receive for the City all sums of money due and
payable to the City of Pasco for debts which the City lists with the Agent.
2. COMPLIANCE WITH LAW:
Agent shall comply with the collection laws of the State of Washington and Public Law 95-109 (Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act) and all Federal regulations and laws governing collections, including
those mandated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). New
legislation affecting City or Agent with respect to terms and conditions of this contract shall be made
a part of this contract by notice of either party to the other and in all cases compliance with the
statute on its effective date shall be implemented until such time as an addendum to the contract can
be written.
3. DEFINITIONS:
A. "City" means the City of Pasco and all of its departments and divisions, including,
but not limited to the Finance Division and the Municipal Court.
B. "Collections" means monies collected from Debtor by Agent after date on which
Agent acknowledges receipt of the account. Remittance statements for collections
will show amounts for principal, contingent fees and interest separately.
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C. "Court" means the City of Pasco Municipal Court.
D. "Debt' means unpaid amounts owed to the City including, but not limited to, utility
billings, ambulance billings, cemetery or other miscellaneous billings referred by the
Finance Division, plus unpaid infractions, criminal fines, civil judgments, and other
costs, assessments and forfeitures that have been imposed by the Court.
E. "Direct Payments" means the City receives money due from debtor.
F. "Debtor" means any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity which owes
money to City.
G. "Contingent Fees" means money due Agent from the City in payment for collection
services rendered, pursuant to RCW 19.16.500.
4. TERM:
This Contract shall continue in effect for a period beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December
31, 2022, unless earlier terminated as provided for in Section 10 of this contract.
5. COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT:
Agent shall not accept any compromise settlement of principal amounts due the City without prior
approval of the City.
City shall not accept any compromise settlement of contingent fees and/or interest due the Agent
without prior consultation with the Agent.
After a case has been listed with Agent for in excess of 30 days, City will limit requests for account
cancellations to special circumstances (such as error, failure of reasonable notice, or Court-ordered
vacation of legal financial obligations (LGO) as required by Richland v. Wakefield) and prior
consultation with the Agent.
6. RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES:
Agent is an independent contractor and nothing contained in this contract shall be construed as
constituting Agent as servant, agent or employee of City. Agent is solely responsible for the
employment, acts and omissions, control and direction of its employees.
7. INDEMNIFICATION:
Agent shall indemnify and save City harmless from any and all claims, demands, or causes of action
asserted against City, arising out of or in any way connected with the collection activities of Agent
on accounts referred to Agent by City, except due to the sole negligence of the City.
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8. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:
Agent's services to be provided under the following conditions:
A. All costs associated with pre -collection and collection, including postage, supplies,
and staff, will be provided by Agent.
B. Pre -collection services and monies collected during pre -collection are not subject to
contingent fees. No monies will be collected by Agent during pre -collection. All
payments during pre -collection shall be forwarded to the City.
C. Monies collected during regular collection will be subject to contingent fees and
reported as applicable to the City Finance Division and remitted on a semi-monthly
(by the 15" and 31' of each month respectively) basis or reported as applicable to the
Court and remitted on a monthly basis. In both cases, remittance statements will
show principal amounts and contingent fees separately. Interest postings will be
remitted monthly on a separate statement.
D. In all cases where the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 19.16.500) allows
contingent fees, such contingent fees will be added to the account balance pursuant to
statute, at a rate of 40%, after pre -collection. Interest collect shall be split equally
between the City and Agent.
E. Direct contact with Debtors will be by trained collection staff.
F. Agent will advance legal costs and have an attorney on retainer.
G. Agent will provide reports and a variety of specialize reports monthly. Semi-annual
and annual recaps of performance, for all types of accounts, will also be provided.
H. The License Restoration Program and its process will be at the discretion of Agent,
subject to the Court's approval of the Agent's policies and procedures. Cityshall
not waive or reduce Agent's processing fee without consultation with the Agent.
I. If the City accepts payment on any account which has been listed with Agent. City
will forward payment to Agent to be applied accordingly.
J. In cases where payment is made by personal check, posting to release the hold will be
made when the check clears.
K. In cases where there is a hold (i.e. a "DOL" adjudication hold, a water lien or other)
the hold will remain in place until all principal, contingent fees and interest are
satisfied.
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9. KEY CONTACT PERSONS:
The authorized contact personnel for the City are:
• Finance Division
o Richa Sigdel, Financial Services Manager;
o Stephanie Brock, Customer Service/Utility Billing Manager;
o Tami Hewett, Accounts Receivable Clerk
• Municipal Court
o Dot French, Municipal Court Administrator
The key contact personnel for Agent are:
• Marcie Grace
• Jeana Mathews
10. EARLY TERMINATION:
Either party may at any time cause this contract to terminate without cause, upon giving ninety (90)
days written notice to the other parry. The contract shall terminate at the end of the ninety days.
11. ASSURANCE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION:
Agent hereby confirms, agrees to, and assures compliance with non-discriminatory practices
consistent with Titles VI and VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended in 1972; Executive Order
11246 as amended by Executive Order 11375; Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1975 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the 1974 Vietnam Era Veteran
Readjustment Assistance Act; and the Washington State Laws Against Discrimination, Chapter 490
RCW.
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Approved and executed on the I S� , day of N\ V' - " , 2017.
WASHINGTON COLLECTORS TRI -CITIES, INC.
SEAN LAMB
President
Approved and executed on the �, day of 2017.
CITY OF PASCO
"'Dave Zab4l/
City Manager
ATTEST
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Daniela Erickson, City Clerk Lee Kerr, City Attorney
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