By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondence
Nephi will now, by ordinance, be able to add reasonable collection fees to delinquent utility accounts.
Those fees will be added when the city needs to retain the service of an attorney or third-party collection agency to collect the delinquent utility fees.
Nephi City Council Attorney Kasey Wright prepared an ordinance to that effect so that it could be adopted at council meeting on Tuesday.
"State law sets forth the legal authority of the city to maintain and operate utility services for the city," said Randy McKnight, city administrator.
In the case of Nephi, those utilities consist of culinary water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and solid waste.
He said that Nephi does have a policy, part of the Nephi Code, dealing with due and payable utility bills but that the city ordinance needed to be amended to allow collection fees to be imposed on delinquent accounts.
The city, by law, has the authority to require payment for utility services the city provides and it also has authority to impose penalties for failure to timely pay for utility services the city provides.
The city code authorizes the city to impose penalties and interest for delinquent payment and allow the city, as a creditor, to impose collection fees on delinquent utility accounts.
"You may choose, as the council, to amend Section 8-7-2 of the Nephi City Code to provide for the imposition of collection fees and attorney's fees on individuals who are delinquent in the payment of utilities provided by the city," said McKnight.
Don Ball asked if the collection would be a flat fee or if it would be for a percentage of the bill collected.
"In the event the city retains the services of an attorney or a third-party debt collection agency to collect delinquent utility fees, then the city may charge reasonable collection fees, costs, and/or attorney's fees as allowed under Utah law," McKnight said.
Under the ordinance, all accounts are due on the twelfth of the month following billing.
"Accounts not paid by the twelfth of the month will receive a delinquent notice requiring payment of the amount due by the thirtieth of that same month," said McKnight.
The notice is to state the amount due and will inform the recipient that if the amount due is not paid by the thirtieth of the month, action will be taken to discontinue utility service to the account.
A late payment penalty of $10 and 18 percent interest will be applied after the thirtieth.
"In the event the city retains the services of an attorney or a third-party debt collection agency to collect delinquent utility fees, then the city may charge reasonable collection fees, costs and/or fees as they are allowed under Utah law.
"The ordinance will take effect immediately upon its passage and publication as prescribed by law," said McKnight.
Wright also included a severability clause stating that if any provision of the ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional by any court, the invalidity will not affect other sections, provisions, clauses or applications which can be implemented without the invalid provision, clause or application.
