APPENDIX E – MUNICIPAL POLICIESAPPENDIX E – MUNICIPAL POLICIES\77. Procedures for the write-off of accounts receivable

PURPOSE

To establish a policy which guides the city council and staff on procedures for the write-off of accounts receivable.

POLICY

·         Once an account is considered uncollectible, staff will use the State Set-off Program to collect a portion of the bill.

·         Any accounts not collected, including those in bankruptcy, will then be removed from the accounts receivable ledger.

·         A final bill will be printed out and filed in a notebook. The notebook will be tabbed by the date of the write-off, i.e. month and year, etc.

·         The city administrator will draft a memo to the council requesting approval to write off the accounts. The specific accounts determined to be written off will be listed along with a statement that all collection processes have been exhausted; therefore, the accounts should be removed from the accounts receivable listing. The council’s approval will be documented in the minutes.

·         The memo to the council and the excerpt from the minutes approving the writeoff will be filed in the notebook, along with the final bills.

·         This notebook will be maintained by staff in order to provide documentation in  case further collection of the account is possible, i.e. the delinquent customer moves back to town, etc.