15 | Audit of Public Utilities Billing and Collection Processes July 2024 5. Non-Compliance with County Resolution No. 2022-186, Adoption of Sarasota County Public Utilities Department Water and Wastewater Rules and Regulations, regarding terminating service for delinquent sewer‐only accounts. Observation Most Public Utilities department customers when initially applying for the services to be activated for their property will have a water meter installed on the property. The water meter then tracks the water consumption at the property location and this consumption provides the basis for calculating both water and sewer consumption. However, if a property does not need water service, but needs sewer service, the owner may request to connect to the Sarasota County Utilities system for sewer‐only services. Sewer‐only accounts are billed a monthly flat rate based on their Equivalent Dwelling Unit. Sarasota County Resolution No. 2022-186 was adopted to establish rules and regulations for the operation of the Sarasota County Utility System. Within the Resolution, section 4.15(2)(g) states “As applicable, the Department may refuse or discontinue service under the following conditions provided that, unless otherwise stated, the Customer shall be given written notice and allowed a reasonable time to comply with any rule or remedy any deficiency, with such notice being provided by the Department by mail or delivery, which may be electronic: For nonpayment of bills or noncompliance with the Department's rules and regulations in connection with the same or a different type or a different class of utility service furnished to the same Customer at the same premises by the same or affiliated Department utility only after there has been a diligent attempt to have the Customer comply, including at least five days written notice to the Customer. Such notice shall be separate and apart from any bill for service.” In the event that a sewer‐only customer does not pay their sewer bill and becomes delinquent, it then becomes difficult for the County to terminate service to the property. Currently, there is no formal policy or procedure in place to terminate service to a sewer‐only account. Upon discussion with the auditee, it was apparent a Standard Operating Procedure is currently being drafted for approval. Auditor selected a sample of 15 sewer only customer accounts out of the total population of 140 sewer only accounts that were at some point delinquent on their bill during the period of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023. Out of 15 sampled accounts tested, three (3) accounts were identified as delinquent, but not terminated. These accounts totaled approximately $20,000.00 in past due services. Recommendation To ensure consistency and accuracy of processing delinquent sewer only accounts, the Public Utilities Department should create Standard Operating Procedures to define the process of terminating service for delinquent sewer‐only accounts. These procedures, at a minimum, should address items such as delinquency, the review and approval process, notification of service termination, and the service termination process.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzM3Mjg=