Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee Meeting - January 28, 2026
Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee Meeting - January 28, 2026
The Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee met on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at 4:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting focused on December 2025 financial reports, a progress report on delinquent DPU bill collections, and ARPA fund status. Chair George Sarantou presided with six members present. Key discussions included $10.57 million collected in past-due utility payments, income tax revenue trends, and the need for more detailed ARPA expenditure plans.
Discussion Items
DPU Delinquent Bill Collection Progress
- Director of Public Services Megan Robeson reported that since July 2025, over 2,700 customers enrolled in payment plans, bringing total active plans to 4,850. 90% of plans are on track. Since May 2025, the city has collected $10.57 million, with an expected additional $6.2 million from current plans. 2,700 customers paid their past-due balance in full.
- For commercial/industrial accounts: 142 work orders for turnoff were sent; 54 (38%) paid upon notice, 79 were disconnected, 32 of those reconnected, and 47 accounts were closed (mostly defunct businesses). Nine disconnections are pending. Residential turnoffs are planned to begin by end of February or March 2026, pending finalization of procedures.
- Committee members raised several concerns: Vice Chair Mac Driscoll asked whether the $6.2 million expected collection is already accounted for in the budget and rate structure. Director Robeson confirmed it is, as the utility budgets for a ~3% non-collectible rate, and collected past-due amounts offset that assumption. Councilwoman Gadus requested a list of the 69 commercial/industrial accounts on payment plans, including zip codes, and asked about sharing data with 211 for outreach. Councilwoman Jones suggested cross-referencing delinquent businesses with a business registry to identify closed or vacant properties early. Councilman Martinez requested a breakdown of bad debt by residential vs. commercial, and discussed challenges with landlords stuck with bills from bad tenants, asking for strategies to avoid dead properties.
- The director noted the city is considering adjusting its write-off policy from five years to a shorter period (e.g., two or three years) to align with other Ohio cities. She also mentioned that Columbus does not offer payment plans, and that Toledo’s plan helps affordability. The committee directed several referrals for follow-up information.
December 2025 Financial Reports
- Finance Director Melanie Campbell presented, noting year-end processes are ongoing (income tax collections through February, accruals, actuarial adjustments). Commissioner Zavisha reported income tax: December withholding was down ~$1M but combined Nov/Dec up $2.3M (7%). Business net profits up $275k for the month but will end the year negative due to lower Ohio opt-in payments. Individual taxes up $153k for December. Year-to-date income tax is up $10.1M (4.8%) against budget of $238M. Refunds projected at $6M, currently at $4.8M.
- General fund revenues: 95.2% collected overall. Property taxes and licenses/permits met budget. Investment earnings exceeded budget at $5.8M. PFAS litigation settlement proceeds boosted other revenue. General fund expenditures: 96.6% of budget, with savings in services/supplies and some police overtime due to retroactive contract pay and special events.
- ARPA update: $13 million remains to be spent by the December 31, 2026 deadline. The city earned an additional ~$176,000 in interest on ARPA funds, which may be used for general fund support. Vice Chair Driscoll criticized the administration’s ARPA spending explanations as insufficient, citing vague responses (e.g., "remaining amount is currently being programmed"). He urged a collaborative reallocation process if needed. Councilwoman Gadus suggested hosting a special committee meeting with program managers for detailed updates. Chair Sarantou agreed to schedule a meeting within a month.
- The city’s tax compliance unit ("stacks unit") collected $6.2 million in 2025, the second strongest year in 25 years, against a $6M budget.
Other Discussion
- Chair Sarantou raised the issue of winter averaging elimination on sewer bills. He noted many customers are upset and requested a law department opinion on whether the city can pay for installation of separate irrigation meters and charge customers monthly (similar to Columbia Gas). He stated he has been waiting two months for an opinion. Director Robeson said she would relay the concern.
- City Auditor John Ravalsky reported ongoing reviews: investment review in progress, grass-cutting audit underway, and he has been assisting council with budget questions.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken. Several referrals were directed: (1) Provide a list of 69 commercial/industrial accounts on payment plans (including names and zip codes). (2) Investigate feasibility of cross-referencing delinquent businesses with a business registry. (3) Research collectibility rates and write-off policies of other Ohio cities. (4) Provide breakdown of bad debt by residential/commercial. (5) Schedule a special committee meeting within a month for detailed ARPA progress reports from program managers. (6) Law department to provide opinion on separate irrigation meter installation.
- The committee acknowledged the DPU collection progress and the overall financial health of the city, noting the positive income tax growth and high collectibility rate.
Meeting Transcript
Regular monthly meeting of the Finance Debt and Budget Oversight Committee will come to order and the clerk will call the roll. Saranto here. Driscoll? Here. Gaddis? Yeah. Hobbs. Jones. Here. Martinez. Five present. Excellent. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone on this warm sunny day. And also Megan Robeson, uh, director of public services here. So uh director, uh go right ahead. Our first item on the agenda is the progress report on the collection of delinquent bills for DPU. Um good afternoon. Uh thank you, Councilman, for inviting me to the the committee to present. Um so since July of twenty twenty-five, we have had a little over twenty seven hundred people um enroll um in a uh payment plan to to pay past due bills. Um counting the people who were already enrolled, we are currently at four thousand eight hundred and some change plans of eight hundred and fifty so plans. Ninety percent of those plans that people are on, they are on track with payment, meaning they're not, you know, slipping on either their current bill or their past due bill. Um since May of twenty-five, and this is through the end of the year, my date is only good through the end of last year. Um we've collected ten point five seven million, and we still have six point two million that we expect to collect coming from the current payment plans. And in that collection, we had um just under twenty-seven hundred people who paid um one time for their their past due balance. That means they paid a hundred percent of what they owed. Correct. They paid in full, yes. And how many directors did you just say were pending where you expected to collect? Well, we still there there are still forty-eight hundred and fifty or so um active accounts, and we expect about six point two million to continue to come in from those specific accounts and collections. Um we have um done 142 work orders we sent out for turnoff. And as you know, this was commercial. Um we hit a lot of the very large balances last year that that we discussed at previous committees. Um of the 142, um 54 or 38 percent of those people um paid when we went to uh once they got the the notice for disconnection. Um seventy-nine people we actually performed disconnection on. Again, this is commercial businesses. And some of these admittedly, I don't think we're currently operable when we we disconnected. And thus probably why they were not paying. Um of those seventy-nine we disconnected, thirty-two got reconnected, so about 40 percent, and 47 are accounts that never paid and we closed those accounts. They didn't reach out or make payment. Um they're not getting um services now then. Correct, they're not getting services now. Um we have right now nine pending um disconnections. And that's uh that's out for work order um that we're we're doing again. Those are commercial industrial. And we are heading into uh uh very soon to be able to where we're gonna start going at higher end balances for residential. Um we have got um some discussions we have to have to finalize the program and then we'll be able to start doing those turnoffs. But um there's been a lot of hard work by you know my team and working with um you know Deputy Mayor Arnold to get us to where we can you know handle this program, we've got a good plan and you know people are gonna have plenty of opportunity to um get on a payment plan with us before we would would turn anyone off. So are the um are all of the uh ones where they were uh threatened with turnoff, are those all commercial accounts or those were all commercial at this point. We have sent notices um to the people who are residential that are in the dollar threshold and up, and they are aware that they are subject to disconnection, but they have not received a disconnection hanger.
openpublica.com