Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03181986 - 1.47 ii i yD ` TO: BOARD OF SUAVISORS FROM: Donald L. Bouchet, Auditor-Controller Contra By: Kenneth J. Corcoran, Assistant Accounting Manage Costa 1 DATE: February 6, 1986 County SUBJECT: Write-off of Delinquent General Accounts Receivable SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. RECOMMENDED ACTION It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors authorize the write-off of delinquent accounts receivable in the amount of $132,881.19. II. FINANCIAL IMPACT In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles the County maintains a Reserve for Bad Debts account. Delinquent and uncollectible accounts receivable are charged against this reserve account when they are written-off. As a result, there will be no financial impact on current year revenue if this write-off is authorized. III. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION Approval of the recommended action will allow approximately 560 delinquent accounts to be written-off and purged from the file of active accounts. This will reduce computer processing time and will allow more effort and concentration to be focused on the collection of current accounts. The reasons for write-off recommendation can be summarized as follows: A. Debtor Deceased - $6.00 These are accounts where the debtor has died and there has been a verification by staff that there are no assets available against which a creditor's claim could be filed. B. Determined Uncollectible by Auditor-Controller - $16.00 These are accounts where the Auditor-Controller has determined the accounts should be written-off. These are accounts where it has been determined that the cost of further collection efforts will exceed the revenues realized. C. Determined Uncollectible by Originating Department - $111,995.72 These are accounts where the County department which originated the billing has determined that the accounts should be written-off. Of this amount, $96,409.10, represents the write-off of Basic Adult Care - Health Partnership, bad debts accumulated during the period January, 1984 throu�h Auust, 1985. During the current fisca ar, the rogram was CONTIN DON ATTA MEN YES SIGNATURE: OMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMME ATION BO CO MITA E APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON ejg APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ��- ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED_ _ gz&t4z� / / dp, I //Q�/K Auditor-Controller . PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY �/ DEPUTY _ TO: Board of Supervisors SUBJECT: Write-off of Delinquent General Accounts Receivable o C. Determined Uncollectible by Originating Department - cont. changed so that BAC enrollees with a share of cost liability are required to pay their liability as services are provided. Therefore, the practice of billing the enrollees has been dis- continued. D. Determined to be in County's Best Interest - $9,841.70 These are accounts where it has been determined not to be in County's best interest to pursue. In these particular accounts, which were for abatements, accounts receivable accounts were written-off, and liens were placed on properties instead. E. Bankruptcy - $700.52 These are cases where an order from' the bankruptcy court requires the County to write-off the account. F. Compromise Settlement - $4,646.58 These are cases where an amount less than the total billed amount is accepted as payment in full. The difference between the billed and payment amounts is recommended for write-off. Such compromise settlements are accepted only after extensive review by the origin- ating department, the County's Lien Committee and/or County Counsel's office. G. Determined Uncollecible by Collection Agency - $5,670.53 These are accounts where the County's outside collection agency has 'returned them as uncollectible. This recommendation by the collection agency is for various reasons, the most common including that the debtor has "skipped" or has filed bankruptcy. H. Small Claims Judgement in Favor of Defendant - $31.00 These care cases where the County has taken the debtor to Small Claims Court, and all or a portion of, the account has been ruled in favor of the defendant. I. Balance $10 or Less - $:(26:'81) Delinquent accounts with balances of $10 or less are recommended for write-off because further collection effort cannot be justified on a cost-benefit analysis. This also includes accounts with credit balances of $10 or less, which have been written-off rather than refunded due to cost and inability to locate. IV. BACKGROUND Many County departments request the Auditor's office to bill for services they have provided. This billing is accomplished through the General Accounts Receivable system. After three invoices have been sent out with no response, additional collection efforts, including court action and assignment to a collection agency, are initiated. For the reasons noted in section III, it is periodically necessary to formally write-off certain accounts. Historically, authorization to write-off these accounts has been done either quarterly or semi-annually. It should be noted that the Board's authorization to write-off accounts only relieves the department originating the claim from further collection efforts. The Board's action does not relieve the delinquent debtor from responsibility for the debt. Therefore, the account may be reinstated at any time if conditions with the debtor change. • TO: Board of Supervisors SUBJECT: Write-off of. Delinquent General Accounts Receivable V. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION If the recommended action is not taken there will be a slight increase in monthly General Accounts Receivable processing costs. Also, leaving these accounts on the file will cause some decrease in clerical efficiency.