5 | Audit of Public Utilities Billing and Collection Processes July 2024 • No. 90‐036, Adoption of the Establishment of Minimum Interest Rate on Customer Deposits under “Sarasota County Water and Sewer Franchise Utility Rules & Regulations.” Adopted 6th of February, 1990. • No. 2021-140, Adoption of the Sarasota County Utilities System Water and Wastewater Equivalent Dwelling Units Table. Adopted 24th of August, 2021. • No. 2020-156, Adoption of the Sarasota County Public Utilities Adjustment Policy. Adopted 7th of July, 2020. • No. 2022-185, Adoption of Ratifying Water, Wastewater, Reclaimed Water and other Utility Rates, Fees and Charges for the Sarasota County Utilities System. Adopted on 30th of August, 2022. • No. 2023-148, Adoption of Ratifying Water, Wastewater, Reclaimed Water and other Utility Rates, Fees and Charges for the Sarasota County Utilities System. Adopted on 12th of September, 2023. The scope of the audit included a review of customer accounts within the billing application, including utility billing statements, for the period of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023. The methodology used to meet the objectives of the audit and the procedures performed included, but were not limited to, the following: • Inquiries of county personnel. • Walkthrough of the utility billing process. • Reviewed policies and procedures, and evaluated internal controls, related to: o Billing statements; o Interest paid on deposits; o Adjustments; o Payment plans; o Opening new accounts; o Security deposits; o Account write offs; o Refunds; o Delinquent accounts; o Disconnect policies; o Billing estimates; • Examined the following items: o A random sample of 130 billing statements between the dates of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023. o A systematic random sample of 100 accounts with active deposits that had interest paid between the dates of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023. o A random sample of 50 adjustments within the billing application between the dates of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023. o A random sample of 29 payment plan agreements between the dates of January 01, 2023 through December 31, 2023.
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