Iola has more than $500,000 in past-due utility bills and Iola Municipal Court fines and other fees it is trying to collect.
Those figures were shared Monday as Council members weigh hiring a collections agency to act on the city’s behalf.
Council members tabled a decision on hiring Collection Bureau of Kansas, however, until they can figure out whether Iola can voluntarily collect less in past-due municipal court fines as a means to get more people to pay.
The agreement before the Council is to hire CBK, then hand over 30 percent of any past-due funds the agency collects.
Seventy percent of past-due funds is better than nothing, City Clerk Roxanne Hutton explained.
However, state law dictates cities must collect 100 percent of the past-due municipal court fines, with CBK tacking on an additional 30-percent surcharge.
“I’m appreciative of what can be collected,” Councilman Aaron Franklin said. “But if folks are having a hard enough time to pay 100 percent of a fine, the extra 30 percent will be even more difficult.”
As of Monday, the city had $531,255.17 in bad debt, Hutton noted.
Council members pared more than $46,000 from that total by writing off accounts from deceased debtors — $2,080.21 — and an additional $44,160.37 from those who have subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
COUNCIL members voted, 8-0, to purchase a compactor truck from Merle Kelly Ford from Chanute.
The 2017 Ford F-750 and New Way 20RL Cobra compactor will cost the city $77,929, the lowest of five bids received. The truck itself costs $117,929, minus a $40,000 trade-in allowance for the city’s old unit, a 2007 model.
As an aside, Twin Motors Ford does not sell trucks that big, Street and Alley Superintendent Dan Leslie told the Council.
The Council also approved a Northern Star Girl Scout request to camp overnight June 8 at Iola’s Riverside Park. The Scouts will be hosting activities at the park June 7-9.
