Agenda - 02-02-2021 Virtual Board Meeting; 8-a - Minutes

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11 1 Todd Taylor said yes, that is correct, and during those two months, OWASA makes 2 many attempts to reach the customer and work out a plan to get the debt settled. He said there 3 are options to help customers such as payment plans, third party assistance, etc. He said shut 4 off is a final tool to try to secure payment. 5 Commissioner Dorosin asked what happens after water is shut off, and OWASA is left 6 with unpaid accounts. 7 Todd Taylor said most often customers pay the bill, but sometimes customers move out 8 of the service area, or simply do not have the means to pay the bill. He said the next step is to 9 engage a third party collections agency. He said State law forbids OWASA from forgiving the 10 debt, or using other customer monies to pay off the debt. 11 Commissioner Dorosin asked if a judgement in Court has ever been served to 12 individuals who are unable to pay. 13 Todd Taylor said he does not think this has ever happened. He said if an account goes 14 to a collections agency, it is difficult for the customer to secure service in any other areas. 15 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the collection agencies receive some percentage of the 16 bill. 17 Todd Taylor said he is unsure, but assumes this is correct. 18 Commissioner McKee asked if clarification could be provided on accounts that are in 19 arrears, but are participating in a payment plan of sorts. 20 Todd Taylor said OWASA works with these customers, keeping the service intact as 21 payment plans are paid off. 22 Commissioner McKee said there are about 500 accounts in arrears, and asked if the 23 total number of OWASA customer accounts is known. 24 Todd Taylor said OWASA has 22,000 service accounts, but the previously referenced 25 562 accounts are specifically residential. He said the 22,000 accounts include commercial 26 accounts. 27 Commissioner McKee asked if having 562 accounts in arrears is higher than normal. 28 Todd Taylor said yes. 29 Commissioner McKee said the PowerPoint presentation referenced $5.4 million of 30 capital projects that are delayed, and asked if these are critical projects, and if the cost of these 31 projects will only double in cost with the passage of time. 32 Todd Taylor said all the projects are critical, and OWASA has just moved them out in its 33 timeline. He said these projects will have to be done, and the cost to do so will ultimately 34 increase customer rates. He said the longer these projects are delayed, the more they will cost. 35 He said there has been no rate increase this year, which will lead to a higher rate increase down 36 the line. 37 Commissioner McKee said the infrastructure cannot be delayed too long. 38 Commissioner Hamilton clarified that standard collection procedures will not resume until 39 the spring. 40 Todd Taylor said the resumption of Standard Collection practices is connected to when 41 the County ends its declared state of emergency. He said resumption will occur 30 days after 42 the state of emergency ends, as long as it is not in place for many months (a year). 43 Commissioner Hamilton said customers will have debts to pay, and asked if OWASA will 44 work out payment plans. 45 Todd Taylor said yes, and the payment plans will likely be 12 to 18 months long. 46 Commissioner Hamilton said this seems realistic, as Covid will have far reaching 47 impacts. She referred to the capital projects, and asked if a large part of the reduction in 48 revenue is really due to UNC not using as much water as is typical. 49 Todd Taylor said he does not know of a monetary amount, but UNC typically makes up 50 20% of OWASA's water sales. He said this is having the biggest impact on OWASA.