To what degree government units should be responsible for late fees assessed on their utility bills was debated during Monday’s Plymouth Common Council meeting.
Steve Carter with accounting firm Carter Dillon Umbaugh, LLC asked the council to waive a $200 penalty assessed on the Pretty Lake Conservancy, one of his clients. He told council members he’s been working with the conservancy’s volunteer board to implement procedures that better align with the state’s new internal controls policies. While the procedures are designed to protect the district’s funds, Carter says they’ve made paying bills more difficult. “In this particular instance, what has kind of happened is in the process of me getting the bill, getting the bill approved by the board president, and then getting the bill back to the treasurer to sign, and then getting it back to the city took longer than the required time to get it paid,” Carter said.
Some council members expressed concern that granting a waiver would open the door to several such requests from residents. However, Carter said that being a governmental unit, the Pretty Lake Conservancy can’t pay the penalty, according to statute. “Probably, we would pay it, there would be an audit finding the treasurer would be responsible for paying it back personally,” he said. “In that instance, knowing that, quite frankly, I’d probably just pay it.”
Council member Jeff Houin felt it was unfair to treat governmental units the same as residential customers, since they’re subject to extra requirements. “I don’t want a volunteer treasurer for a government unit to be personally responsible,” he said. “I think we do need to examine the contracts and the procedures here. Something needs to change so it doesn’t happen again. I think it’s kind of an unfair position to say it’s all on them when we’re talking about an agreement between to government units.”
However, Gary Cook didn’t see why additional leniency should be granted to units of government. “I don’t think that it’s fair to all the city residents that we have,” he said. “And if they come in and they want us to waive it and we say no, why should we waive it for these guys? I don’t think it’s fair.”
Houin responded, “Not to be curt, but I think the short answer is that if you pay it late, the [Department of Local Government Finance] is not going to come and audit your personal finances.”
Cook then attempted to make a motion to assess the penalty, while Houin made a motion to waive it. After some discussion, it was determined that since the penalty had already been imposed, it made more sense for the council to consider Houin’s motion. The vote ended in a three-to-three tie, made possible by the absence of Shawn Grobe. Mayor Mark Senter broke the tie, opting to deny the Pretty Lake Conservancy’s waiver request.
