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.
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�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)
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Ordinance—Amending PMC Related to Misc.Late Fees-5
Fee/Charge Reference
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[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