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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1993 0616 CC REG ITEM 08Cf -00,'PAW, r;rl= . c . C � /G 199 CITY OF MOORPARK /,CT.:: ,A: / N CITY COUNCIL REPORT E; TO: The Honorable City Council FROM: Donald P. Reynolds Jr., Administrative Services Manager, DATE: June 8, 1993 SUBJECT: Consider a Collection Policy for the City Emergency Response Cost Program Attachment "A" is a policy drafted by staff for the Council's consideration which allows staff to remove Emergency Cost Recovery cases from the receivables listing when they are found to be not guilty or have been dismissed by the court. This is consistent with the recommendation of the Council's Budget and Finance Committee. Background The City has had the authority to collect for emergency costs associated with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs since the State amended Government Code Section 53150 in 1985. Attachment "B" is the form letter ( "invoice ") currently used by staff to collect these costs, which includes an exact citation of the State's law in the second paragraph, (which is specific and only addresses driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol). In 1991, the State authorized counties to collect for booking fees. The City's cost for booking fees is currently $120. When this law came into effect, the City began billing for the emergency cost as well as the booking fee. The costs are derived from the police report which states the amount of time spent by the Moorpark Police, and adds the booking fee. Initially, the Moorpark Police Department drafted the initial invoice. In the fall of 1992, the City added overhead costs to the City's Police Department charges. City staff began writing the invoices for the emergency cost recovery program in January of 1993, because these invoices include the overhead costs. Since 1991, only 10.24% of the costs have been collected by the City. The March 31, 1993, balance due on these invoices as presented in Attachment "C" is $101,082, with a year end projection of close to $110,000. The average amount due per case is $311. The average number of cases per month in calendar year 1992 is 11, ranging from 5 to 17 per month. Of the 325 cases attempted to be collected by staff between 1991 and March 31, 1993, 12 are currently on a payment plan, 12 have been paid and 301 are past due. Discussion The City is faced with a potential for a continually growing number of outstanding debts. In order to correct this situation, two recommendations are proposed by the Committee and Staff; adopt a more aggressive collection effort terminating in small claims court, and dismiss payments on all cases dismissed or found to be not guilty by the court. After consulting with the Moorpark Police Department, staff has been made aware that tracking 301 cases for a guilty /not guilty finding is an arduous task. Cases can be postponed for up to 8 months, and a regular verification of all cases with the current staffing either by the City or by the County Sheriff is not feasible. In response to the Committee's recommendation, it is the Moorpark Police Department's conclusion that the burden of proof of the accused being found not guilty, be placed upon the accused. Revised Collection Effort Attachment "A" is describes a simple policy which will allow staff to remove all cases from the list which have been either dismissed by the court or found not guilty. A revised collection effort will be implemented by staff to collect all cases found to be guilty by the court. In addition to the single invoice currently sent, staff will issue two additional letters in subsequent 30 periods. If after 120 days of collection efforts, the accused has not responded and the case has been concluded by the courts finding the accused to be guilty, the matter will be taken to small claims court. The Committee considered the employment of a collection agency and deemed this approach to be too costly and generally ineffective. Recommendation That the City Council adopt the collection policy outlined by staff in Attachment "A" to this report and remove the not guilty or dismissed cases from the list of receivables. ATTACHMENTS: A) Draft Cost Recovery Collection Policy B) City Form Letter and State Code C) Statistics of the Program Through March 31, 1993 ATTACHMENT "A" EMERGENCY COST RECOVERY COLLECTION POLICY Intent The following policy will improve staff's ability to administer the City's Emergency Cost Recovery program. Policy The City will remove all invoices due for costs associated with an Emergency Response, (as defined by State Government Code 53150), if the accused is determined to be not guilty or the related case is dismissed by the court. May 18, 1993 REFERENCE: Dear ATTACHMENT "B" - City First Letter /Invoice M 799 Moorpark Avenue Moorpark, California 93021 (805) 529 -6864 EMERGENCY RESPONSE Police Report No. On 1993, you were involved in a traffic violation /or accident in the City of Moorpark. This incident was deemed to be alcohol and /or drug related requiring emergency police response. Under the authority of the Government Code of California, Section 53150: "Any person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or drug, or the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle caused by that influence proximately causes any incident resulting in an appropriate emergency response, and any person whose intentionally wrongful misconduct proximately causes any incident resulting in an approximate emergency response, is liable for the expense of an emergency response by a public agency to the incident." The letter is an invoice from the City of Moorpark for payment of due and payable at this time for the emergency response costs incurred in conjunction with this incident. This cost includes all City emergency response costs incurred in the response and on scene investigation of this incident. This claim for payment is a civil action, separate from any criminal penalties that may be imposed by the Court at some future time. You must forward immediate payment payable to the City of Moorpark. Mail your payment to the attention of: City Treasurer City of Moorpark 799 Moorpark Ave. Moorpark CA 93021 y PAUL W. LAWRASON JR. SCOTT MONTGOMERY PATRICK HUNTER BERNARDO M PEREZ JOHN E WOZNIAK Maya Mayor Pro Tom Councilmember Counalmember Counalmember Pnlweo on Aerycow Papw Assembly Smoking and Tabacco Control Bills June 11, 1993 Page 2 AB 13 Assembly Bill 13 (T. Friedman) would enact a 100 percent smoking prohibition in enclosed places of employment. Unlike AB 996 the only area that AB 13 would preempt local governments from enacting stricter smoking restrictions is for enclosed workplaces. Local governments would be free to enact smoking restrictions for workplaces other than enclosed places, i.e., outdoor malls, parks, stadiums, and other tobacco and smoking control restrictions, i.e., vending machines, advertising. Enforcement would be by appropriate local enforcement personnel. Finally, AB 13 states that if the statewide standard is weakened by future legislation, local governments may then enact stricter enclosed workplace ordinances. AB 13 passed in the Assembly on June 7 and will soon be heard by the Senate. The League of California Cities supports the bill and staff recommends that Council express its support for AB 13. Recommendation Staff recommends that Council direct the Mayor to sign letters expressing the City's opposition to AB 996 and support for AB 13 addressed to the appropriate Senate committee members.