MORAN — Moran City Council members put off for a month a question on what to do with past-due utility bills.
Council members — meeting for the first time in two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic — discussed extensively Monday the statewide prohibition of utility disconnections, which began in mid-March and will run until the end of the month.
With customers no longer under the gun to pay their utility bills, a small number has not paid anything since the order went into effect, City Clerk Lori Evans reported.
That has led to some hefty balances. Evans pointed to one account in arrears for more than $1,500; another owed $1,100.
Mayor Jerry Wallis asked if the Council should consider giving customers a set time to catch up on their bills once the statewide order expires, noting Iola set a 15-day deadline.
“This is something we’ve never run into before, and I hope we never do again,” Wallis said.
Council members were hesitant to give customers an extended payback period, or allow a payment plan.
“I don’t think we ought to be in the banking business,” Councilman Jim Mueller said. “I don’t know how we can give six months when they haven’t paid anything in three.”
Wallis noted two former customers racked up hefty utility bills, then moved out of town without paying.
The city’s only recourse to collect on those accounts is through a state write-off system, in which the city would get dibs on any state income tax the former customers might otherwise receive.
Councilman Bill Bigelow suggested the Council wait until its June 1 meeting to determine its preferred course, “so we know what we’re up against.”
The others agreed, and will still consider setting up a deferred payment plan presented by Evans.
In related matters, Council members discussed briefly whether to amend a city policy that permanently bans any customer from writing checks if the customer has had more than one check returned due to insufficient funding in the payer’s account.
The issue popped up when a customer was unable to pay on a utility bill with cash because City Hall has been closed to the public during the pandemic. (Evans said the bill was paid via check, anyway, even though the customer had a pair of insufficient-fund checks returned in 2015.
Council members will look into the matter further, and may consider a shorter ban, such as a year or two.
“Forever is a long time,” Councilman Kris Smith noted. “Situations change.”
