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By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — The city of Keyser may retain a collection agency in a bid to retrieve overdue payments on water and sewer bills and police fines.
Addressing city officials at Wednesday's meeting of the Mayor and City Council, Randy Hornsby of Ohio-based Rossman collections company said the firm is expanding into West Virginia and is under contract or nearing agreement with more than a half-dozen municipalities in the Mountain State, including Huntington, St. Albans, Buckhannon and Clarksburg.
In Huntington, the company has collected just over $1 million in overdue payments on a variety of municipal fines and bills. While the city of Keyser, with one-tenth the population, would not expect such a return, Rossman offers its services based solely on a contingency fee, so that the city would only pay the 18 percent collection fee on bills that were paid as a result of the company's efforts.
“If we don't collect, we don't get paid and the city's not out anything,” Hornsby said.
City officials were receptive to the proposal.
Sonny Gank, supervisor of water distribution, noted that, as a college town, Keyser sees more
than its share of unpaid water bills. “Students move back home and they totally forget about the water bill,” he said.
Just this month, Gank reported that city workers placed a record-number 163 red-tag delinquent notices on properties throughout town that had not paid their water bills. At the same time, 33 homes were shut off for failure to pay.
Most of Rossman's efforts would be targeted at residents who may have changed addresses or left town entirely, with no forwarding address for bills to be sent to. Using the company's database, Rossman employees would track down overdue bills forwarded by the city, and then work to recover money owed the city, just like any other unpaid bill that goes to a collection agency.
Hornsby said Rossman collection agents work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. He noted that calls would be made in accordance with the federal “Fair Debt Collection Act,” and that agents would work in a “professional and courteous manner.”
“We recognize that the people we're working with are your citizens,” he said. “We want them treated fairly and properly.”
If payment wis not secured, or if arrangements cannot be made to pay down an old bill in installments, the company will refer delinquent residents to the three major credit bureaus. An unpaid bill of as little as $75 could stand in the way of a person obtaining a car loan, for example.
“At some point, they'll be applying for something, and it will show up,” Hornsby said.
According to Hornsby, the company, which has been in business since 1959, typically recovers about 15 percent of overdue municipal bills or fines. He said it would be up to the city as to what kind of bills would be referred to the company for collection.
“The older it is, the harder it is to collect,” he said, noting that the same 18 percent fee would apply regardless of how old the bill is.
The council members indicated that they would probably vote on entering a service agreement with Rossman at the next council meeting, scheduled for Oct. 28. Councilman Ed Miller, commissioner of finance, said he is supportive.
“It sounds like a good deal to me,” he said.
By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer
KEYSER — The city of Keyser may retain a collection agency in a bid to retrieve overdue payments on water and sewer bills and police fines.
Addressing city officials at Wednesday's meeting of the Mayor and City Council, Randy Hornsby of Ohio-based Rossman collections company said the firm is expanding into West Virginia and is under contract or nearing agreement with more than a half-dozen municipalities in the Mountain State, including Huntington, St. Albans, Buckhannon and Clarksburg.
In Huntington, the company has collected just over $1 million in overdue payments on a variety of municipal fines and bills. While the city of Keyser, with one-tenth the population, would not expect such a return, Rossman offers its services based solely on a contingency fee, so that the city would only pay the 18 percent collection fee on bills that were paid as a result of the company's efforts.
“If we don't collect, we don't get paid and the city's not out anything,” Hornsby said.
City officials were receptive to the proposal.
Sonny Gank, supervisor of water distribution, noted that, as a college town, Keyser sees more
than its share of unpaid water bills. “Students move back home and they totally forget about the water bill,” he said.
Just this month, Gank reported that city workers placed a record-number 163 red-tag delinquent notices on properties throughout town that had not paid their water bills. At the same time, 33 homes were shut off for failure to pay.
Most of Rossman's efforts would be targeted at residents who may have changed addresses or left town entirely, with no forwarding address for bills to be sent to. Using the company's database, Rossman employees would track down overdue bills forwarded by the city, and then work to recover money owed the city, just like any other unpaid bill that goes to a collection agency.
Hornsby said Rossman collection agents work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. He noted that calls would be made in accordance with the federal “Fair Debt Collection Act,” and that agents would work in a “professional and courteous manner.”
“We recognize that the people we're working with are your citizens,” he said. “We want them treated fairly and properly.”
If payment wis not secured, or if arrangements cannot be made to pay down an old bill in installments, the company will refer delinquent residents to the three major credit bureaus. An unpaid bill of as little as $75 could stand in the way of a person obtaining a car loan, for example.
“At some point, they'll be applying for something, and it will show up,” Hornsby said.
According to Hornsby, the company, which has been in business since 1959, typically recovers about 15 percent of overdue municipal bills or fines. He said it would be up to the city as to what kind of bills would be referred to the company for collection.
“The older it is, the harder it is to collect,” he said, noting that the same 18 percent fee would apply regardless of how old the bill is.
The council members indicated that they would probably vote on entering a service agreement with Rossman at the next council meeting, scheduled for Oct. 28. Councilman Ed Miller, commissioner of finance, said he is supportive.
“It sounds like a good deal to me,” he said.
