Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Finance, Debt & Budget Oversight Committee met on September 30, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting covered the Department of Public Utilities' collection efforts, a proposed reallocation of ARPA funds, the monthly financial report, and the city auditor's update. Committee members raised concerns about the structural budget deficit, fire overtime costs, and transparency in ARPA fund usage.
Good afternoon. Welcome to the uh monthly meeting of the Finance and Budget Oversight Committee. Soranto. Driscoll here. Gaddis here. Hobbs. Jones here. Martinez. Also present Williams and McPherson. Wonderful. Probably the largest group we've ever had at a finance meeting. And I I am and I'll tell you the reason why is because the Iowa Hawkey's defeated the University of Michigan, and people are in such a joyous mood. I just wanted to state that for the vice chairman's benefit. Okay. Uh what I'd like to start off with uh Department of Public Utilities uh report and uh we'll turn it over to uh Commissioner Geronimo or I'm sorry. Director Patika. Yes. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you. The installment payment plan program continues to generate significant collections. In July, we reported five point two million collected year to date. And for and for this month, we report about seven million dollars collected year to date for residential and commercial. The utility's total active delinquent balance remains substantial at approximately thirty-eight million dollars. Through August 2026, the department enrolled five thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine residential customers and twenty-six commercial customers. Total active delinquent utility balances stood at approximately thirty-seven point eight million. Commercial and industrial delinquent balances totaled 4.1 million dollars and 556, 556,000 respectively. Residential accounts comprise the largest share at 33.2 million. The department's installment and promise to promise pay programs continue to be an effective tool for recovering revenue while assisting customers facing payment challenges. As I mentioned, nearly $7 million has been collected through these programs in 2026, demonstrating strong customer participation. And as I'm sure some of you are aware, today is the last day of our fresh start program. We have one more outreach event that's at Sophia Cantera Center today, this evening. While delinquent balances remain significant, structured payment options are helping customers remain engaged and reducing the need for permanent service loss. Collection efforts continue to be balanced with customer assistant programs to support affordability and revenue stability. Our various payment plan programs remain an important tool for reducing outstanding balances and helping customers avoid or recover from service interruptions. Our residential customers, as you can see on the report, um August enrollment is 2,289 new plans. So here to date, as I mentioned, 5,929 plans. August amount collected, 1,658. Active plans through August, 8,740. That gives us a year to date amount collected, as I mentioned, about $7 million. Total scheduled to be paid, and this is residential only. Commercial customers in August we enrolled six new plans, and year to date, that's 26 plans. August amount collected is 50,891. Active plans through August is 97.