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Home My WebLink About07/20/2021 12.B. Update on Utility Account Balances 1 IL4.411r11111 • rr 11 i i�O enc u nrry 1 BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 12.B. For Meeting of: July 20, 2021 ITEM TITLE: Update on Utility Account Balances SUBMITTED BY: Steve Groom, Director of Finance and Budget James Dean, Utility Services Manager SUMMARY EXPLANATION: An update on Utility Billing balances is attached with results through May. The suspension of water shutoffs due to nonpayment continued to be in effect during May. No further action by Council is recommended at this time. ITEM BUDGETED: NA STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Public Trust and Accountability APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION: Review only. Submitted for routine transparency and accountability purposes. ATTACHMENTS: Description Upload Date Type 0 May 2021 Utility Billing update 6/22/2021 Corer Memo 2 S: ,l\ :r3 \ f UTILITY SERVICES DIVISION TO: City Council Bob Harrison, City Manager FROM: James Dean, Utility Services Division Manager Vanesa Sanchez, Utility Services Supervisor Steve Groom, Finance Director DATE: June 18, 2021 RE: Update on Utility Account Balances- May 2021 This is to provide feedback on the economic impact of the COVID-19 emergency on the City's Utility Services Billing, since the emergency declaration in March 2020 and subsequent Governor's Stay-At-Home Order. The primary question being answered is, generally are city residents able to pay their utility bills? Receivable balances, in total, have fluctuated. The number of payment arrangements has also fluctuated but this month increased to 82 from 75 last month. Shut-offs for non-payment are still suspended, meaning that we are not enforcing payment using suspension of service. Utility Services bills for Water, Waste Water, Solid Waste & Irrigation on a 60-day rotating cycle, meaning bills are for 2 months of service. Approximately 10,000 of our customers are served by Nob Hill Water Association and are only billed for Waste Water and or Solid Waste services. The division also prepares invoices for the Storm Water utility which are billed initially through Yakima County as part of the property taxes. As the graph at right shows, the trend in City of Yakima receivables for 31-60-day balances from Trend in AR Aging-31-60 days November to May has fluctuated. There is $2oo,o00 sz5o,o00 seasonality to billing and the economic effects of $200,000 _ °° the COVID event in the economy have created sio0,000 varying results. Generally, the outstanding s50,000 receivables balances for Solid Waste,Wastewater so 31-60 31-60 31-60 31-60 31-60 31-60 31-60 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May and Water were all trending down compared to Solid Waste 117,270 97,429 102,551 81,197 68,089 52,589 125,415 prior month, however May increased due to annual •Waste Water 239,852 201,234 245,924 203,061 152,186 124,031 274,946 •Water 83,806 93,484 88,088 86,765 51,108 66,036 97,625 seasonal use. Receivable balances in May in the 61-90-day City of Yakima category continue to vary roughly in a steady Trend in AR Aging 61-90 Days szoo,000 range. Balances in this range indicate unpaid balances for two billing cycles. For May, the s15o,000 $100,000 outstanding receivables balances for Solid Waste s50,000 __ are down compared to prior month; Solid Waste _ and Water are both up slightly. $0 61-90 61-90 61-90 61-90 61-90 61-90 61-90 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Solid Waste 52,278 52,862 48,266 39,079 47,725 38,216 40,734 •Waste Water 65,315 105,248 108,609 80,505 100,588 94,256 88,069 •Water 57,762 53,550 54,807 38,283 47,093 33,632 40,025 3 UTILITY SERVICES DIVISION The trend in Pay Arrangements is shown at right, City of Yakima -Utility Services an indicator for the general economic health of the Payment Arrangements city, to the degree that this measures the number 200 of citizens having difficulty paying their utility bills. 150 Pay Arrangements are established for customers 100 who will be unable to pay bills within the seven-day grace period given past the due date of the bill. 50 Pay arrangements are a snapshot in time and can _ vary depending on the day the report is generated. Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May There was a slight increase in the number of pay arrangements for May, compared to the prior month, but still generally-downward trend from earlier in the pandemic, suggesting that more customers are able to pay their outstanding current balances. Staff continues to make efforts, in talking to customers, to identify those who have a need and to make payment arrangements. Staff has met with customers by appointment in order to assist with setting up online payments. As always, please forward customer inquiries to Utility Services Division. Customers are encouraged to call (509) 575-6080.