water billing & collections - december 2023

---

Water Billing & Collections
Released: December 2023

Download the Full Report here
Download the Highlights Page here

​We undertook this audit because the Department of Watershed Management has not consistently enforced collections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the department suspended termination of water service for nonpayment. City Council expressed concerns about collections and the amount of uncollectible debt the department has not yet written off.​.

Our recommendations to the Commissioner of Watershed is to develop and publish a delinquency policy on the website; enforce water service termination for nonpayment according to the delinquency policy; design and implement a more effective collection strategy; write off uncollectible debt in accordance with law and policy; hire enough staff to maintain or replace infrastructure and consider using a contractor for backlog of escalated requests; implement an A-bill adjustment policy and procedure with thresholds review thresholds and restrict use of A-bills to billing and CAST (Customer Assurance and Satisfaction Team) teams; develop, document, and maintain up to date policies and procedures for water billing and collections

We found:

• Watershed Management has not consistently enforced water shutoffs for non payment since 2010.
• As of June 2023, over 54,000 customer accounts accounted for a total delinquent balance of about $197.8 million, including $137 million for active accounts
• Watershed Management's monthly bill estimation rate is higher than industry benchmarks and has doubled since 2020.