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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4583 Ordinance - Amend PMC 3.70 Misc Late Fees ORDINANCE NO.4583 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO, AMENDING PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 3.70 THE "MISCELLANEOUS BILLING MANAGEMENT," AND SECTION 3.35.100 "MISCELLANEOUS" FEES, RELATED TO LATE FEES. WHEREAS, the City of Pasco (City) provides various services for the benefit of the public, which include associated fees, for those miscellaneous services, that are billed to its customers; and WHEREAS, the City is precluded from gifting public goods and services, which requires payment for such goods and services; and WHEREAS, delinquent payments for the fees incurred detrimentally affects the City's cash flow and results in a greater effort in labor and supplies to redeem delinquent payments; and WHEREAS, the City's Finance Department is desirous of updating its Miscellaneous Billing process and Miscellaneous Fee structure as it relates to late fees by making it simple to understand and apply late fees in the event of delinquent payments. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the PMC Chapter 3.70"Miscellaneous Billing Management"is hereby amended and shall read as follows: Chapter 3.70 MISCELLANEOUS BILLING MANAGEMENT Sections: 3.70.010 Definitions. 3.70.020 Failure to receive mail—Change in address or ownership. ' 3.70.030 Order of payment. 3.70.040 Billing. 3.70.050 Delinquency. 3.70.060 Ambulance insurance coverage. 3.70.070 Cemetery services. 3.70.080 Installment payment plans. 3.70.090 Back bills—Prepayment required. 3.70.100 Hearing and appeal. 3.70.010 Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words shall be interpreted or defined as follows. Except as defined in this section all words in this chapter shall Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc. Late Fees- 1 carry the customary meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future and the future includes the present and the plural includes the singular and the singular includes the plural. This chapter specifically excludes debts and services covered by Chapter 3.65 PMC,Utility Billing Management,or is set out by specific contract (e.g., rents), or is set out by specific ordinance or resolution (e.g., Local Improvement District debt). If contracts are silent as to payment terms or conditions, then this chapter shall apply. `Billing office" means the Finance Division office inside City Hall, which is located at 525N 3rd Ave. Pasco,WA. It specifically excludes the drop box located at City Hall or any other location. „L?ehi" nl��ta1� an�ourits o���eci �ind due to tlt�: C'it� li�r 5cr�ice� renclered or to be reric�i��c��i. "Director"means the Director of Finance, and his or her designee. "Miscellaneous Billin�" means instanees of CitY� su���lied services that reyuire compensation but are not included in another existin�; billin�; software sYstem or �roces�. "Office business hours"means Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. excluding holidays when City offices are closed. "Office nonbusiness hours" means any days and hours not included in office business hours. "Paid" means payment that has been received, processed and posted to the customer's account. [Code 1970 § 3.300.010.] 3.70.020 Failure to receive mail—Change in address or ownership. Failure to receive mail shall not be recognized as a valid excuse for failure to pay bills when due. Change in ownership of property and change in mailing address must be made in writing to the Finance Department. All bills and notices,including delinquency and collection notices shall be sent to the customer's billing address provided the City. [Code 1970 § 3.300.020.] 3.70.030 Order of payment. Payments received shall be applied against outstanding charges in the following order: Interest and finance charges � ;.� �c l, late ��;�������n: �� , , then charges listed on the invoice. Overpayments may be applied to other invoices for the same customer. If no other outstanding invoices exist, then the overpayment shall be refunded. Refunds will be issued within two weeks of the receipt of the overpayment. [Code 1970 § 3.300.030.] Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc.Late Fees-2 3.70.040 Billing. All charges shall be due immediately upon billing and become delinquent if not paid in full to the billing office during office hours within days of the original bill date. Late � eti;penalty��nd interest,__ __ _. _�� �r�uklined.� -���'���7- are considered delinquent when assessed. Bills shall include notice of availability of an installment payment plan when applicable and the process for the customer to request such a payment plan. [Code 1970 § 3.300.040.] 3.70.050 Delinquency. Delinquent bills shall be processed as follows: (1) Invoices that are not paid in full within ��-'. days will incur a penalty known as a "late payment penalty" in an amount as set forth in Chapter 3.3 5 PMC. �>��� ���--��, . .,770„+:,.,.. �,.� „ „�l;,�o.a ; „1.�0..�;..,,� 1111 .,,,.7 !'21.��*1,:� �o..�;.,,, !��ZQ_�l.u� «..a AG ,7.,�,�\ ., ,oll .,� +l,e ,,. � f,- +l,o .. ,��.,,Y,o,- �., .a;�..,,�o �1�,.��oc � � E6iicc�26iric 1", " '�'+1'ivia�ccim'�-E6�@E�6i�`+" ; „+ •, �+ �,.N, iir����-� Dl��i!'�. Tl,o ,. ,n�.,,�,o« . ,;11 t.o �..,ll0.7 .,� �1,0 ,..i,.,.,,o ,,, „-,1,or .;,�o.a +1.0 /'�;�<. .,� ., .;11 ..1,o..L �L,o 1�,..�1 ,�l-,�,,,0 1..,.,,1� �„ �,... > > "�� . an'�a--�rvE{� . �2,�(�}If full pavment is not received after 30 days from original billing a second billin�will be produced. This billing will reflect the late pavment penaltv and be in a 30 da extension until a re-collection rocess be ►ins. {3) Should an�portion of an account's billed balance remain due to the CitY after 60 davs from ori�;inal billing date, a third and final billin.�will be produced. This billin�will reflect a second late pavment penaltv and l,��S�in a ?� da�� ettcn�ian urltil a ��r� �_ " � ��n ��roc�ss be�.inc, (41' Bills not paid in full within days of the original bill date will be flagged to turn over to an outside collection agency for follow up. A "pre-collect" notice will be sent informing the customer they have 30 days to either pay in full (including penalties ) or dispute the charges, or their account will be turned over to an outside collection agency . Customers will also be notified that once the bill (including penalties ) has been turned over for collection then their right to dispute charges forfeit and the account will not be withdrawn from the outside collection process once it 1s turned over. � [hi���� lt.i�� j�.�:� n��:�°r�tl �icr�,3lt�� ���ill ���' a����'��,��i °�i��_�u��lsl ill� accc,��zu ���it}:� �-�raation of the pre-collect notice. ^ �„���;�~� �� '�~�,T,� � �rc-cviicc�6iri��� ; vcrir�9�v���r 1-c'l��G���� Dr�T!'� . ,;11 b.v � Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc.Late Fees-3 Bills (including penalties ) not paid in full within � days of the original bill date and which are not in dispute and which are not covered by an installment payment plan will be turned over to an outside collection agency. Accounts turned over to an outside collection agency incur an additional �? � _ i� _ _ _ by the City .�z, at the time of transfer as set forth in Chapter 3.35 �-�e�� . [Code 1970 § 3.300.050.] {C>) ,.11 t�ia�� tin:�e i:i tl.1w ��rt�4c,��� slzt>�il�i tl��. 1����E�nl�:tat, ��uiliilc�l in a.�l i,l�t..:1��1�i_t pavment ��lan not be u�held, the account will revert to �re-collection status, receive a final notice far full payment (includin�penalties), and follow the order of events and requirements like every other account in the �re-collect status. 3.70.060 Ambulance insurance coverage. The responsibility for payment of ambulance and medical service charges remains with the patient (or patient's family if a minor). In the case of ambulance charges, if the customer assigns the right to collect payment from an insurance company and provides all information and approvals when requested, the City will bill the insurance company directly. Once the insurance company has paid, then the remaining amount will be billed to the customer per PMC 3.70.040. If the insurance company has not paid within 60 days, then the full amount will be billed to the customer per PMC 3.70.040. The customer may request an installment payment plan per PMC 3.70.080. If insurance proceeds are later received by the City then the overpayment will be refunded to the customer. [Code 1970 § 3.300.060.] 3.70.070 Cemetery services. All cemetery goods and services must be paid for either at the time of sale,or before burial; provided, however upon acceptance of application for time payment, the account may be paid over time as follows: 50 percent of the invoice must be paid prior to burial; the remaining amount must be paid no later than 12 months from the original invoice date. [Code 1970 § 3.300.070.] 3.70.080 Installment payment plans. Per PMC "' credit cards are accepted for all billed debts. The City's _• � ��__ is considered an ��,�� of last resort, when there are no savings or other credit avenues available . An installment plan is not authorized merely as a mechanism for customer convenience. All installment payment plans must be in writing in a form prescribed by the City and signed r ���r�����1 «pun iu �,t:n;�:� by both the customer and the Director. Installment payment plans are available as follows: (1) For debts owed by individuals only, installment plans are not available for debts owed by corporations, partnerships, businesses or other entities or associations. Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc.Late Fees-4 (2) For debts as defined in PMC 3.70.010. (3) All installment payment plans must provide for payment in full within no later than 12 months of the original bill date with $100.00 per month as the recommended minimum payment. An applicant may request a financial hardship waiver from the Director who is authorized to set a lower monthly payment. ;, ,,..,,o,.�.,�.,,,o�� �,�„�� �.o..,,. �o�� +�,,,,., e.; � � 'rc—i�e�ge-�an�iric9—�rr�'r�' "�ciic�m�rvzi�iiraciviri@� ��II .z,- �. o o.atzx`��i�TiirJc�ccmii2li+r pi�E�,.rri�L� 1•,.• � �n� cc; `,+�11.� „� . ." _ ,. [Code 1970 § 3.300.080.] 3.70.090 Back bills—Prepayment required. An applicant who is liable to the City for unpaid,past due charges may be required to prepay for future services. Service may be denied to any person or persons who use any deceptive,unlawful, or misleading means or device whatsoever to avoid or minimize the payment for services or other charges owed. [Code 1970 § 3.300.090.] 3.70.100 Hearing and appeal. Any person aggrieved by the assessment of any charge, fee, or penalty,may,within 10 days of receipt of the City's billing to which they are objecting, in writing upon a form provided by the City, request an informal administrative hearing before the Director. The Director hearing this dispute shall be authorized to correct any errors to the customer's billing. The appeal hearing shall be scheduled by the Director at City Hall and conducted during regular business hours within seven business days of receipt of the appeal. A written decision shall be delivered to the customer at the address designated on the appeal within 10 days of the hearing. [Ord. 4161, 2014; Code 1970 § 3.300.100.] Section 2. That the PMC, Section 3.26.100 "Miscellaneous," under Division II Fees, is hereby amended and shall read as follows: 3.35.100 Miscellaneous. Fee/Charge Reference Photocopy fees—per copy $0.15 Admin. Order 42 Returned payment fee $25.00 3.60.010 Late payr7�4nt penalty $10.00 3.70.050(1) izii�iin:-cirnt t,�tilfl�Ct' �-}�}-�{� ' '7n�� D,.o,,.,ll,,.,+;,.,, �„ �8 �8t�7 Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc.Late Fees-5 Fee/Charge Reference r,.i�o,.�;,.r �,,,.,,,,.,o,.�o�„�,,,,-no� .,i�;o� .,,,a �; �� �H �ee�} . � �:9�AE4� �u-�1;�1r�u�fi-f�Jar� _��,���kl}7,-t.,�r �-�--AA �.-�r�n [Ord. 4338, 2017; Ord. 4161, 2014; Ord. 3926, 2009; Ord. 3713, 2005; Ord. 3553, 2002; Ord. 3543,2002; Code 1970 § 3.07.090.] Section 3. This ordinance shall take full force and effect five (5) days after approval, passage and publication as required by law. PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco,Washington this 21 day of March 2022. Blanche Barajas Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: ������ �-� �� Debra Barham, CMC Kerr Ferg , LC City Clerk City Attorney Published: � � �[� � Z� " 2 Z- Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misa Late Fees-6