LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) - Auditors said the 4th Ward Waterworks Association in Livingston Parish should take aggressive action to collect on delinquent accounts, including legal action or engaging a collection agency.
The audit by the Louisiana legislative auditor’s office says the Albany-area water association had reduced the number of delinquent accounts but continues to have customers who owe more than $50 and are more than two months behind on bill payments.
The association’s policy is to cut off accounts that have fallen that far into delinquency, auditor Phil Hebert said in his report.
Association manager Sid Kinchen told The Advocate (https://bit.ly/1mqZMLz) that only about 30 of the association’s 1,300 customers are more than two months behind in paying bills.
“It’s a really low percentage,” Kinchen said. “And it’s generally the same ones that get behind every few months.”
Delinquent accounts will be closed unless the customers can make arrangements to pay their past-due balances, he said.
The association requires a $75 security deposit, according to the audit.
Overall, the association brought in $417,000 in revenue from water sales for 2013, plus another $51,000 in miscellaneous income, while spending $362,000 to operate, according to the audit.
The auditor also noted the association had about $54,000 in deposits above the $250,000 limit for Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance, up from $44,000 in 2012.
The 4th Ward Waterworks, created in 1969, provides water services in Livingston Parish from the village limits of Albany to the St. Helena and Tangipahoa parish lines on the north and east and the Tickfaw River to the west.
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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com
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