HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-01-12 Council Minutes - Work SessionCouncil Members present:
Council Members absent:
Staff present:
Credit Card /Cash Receipting:
KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
JANUARY 12, 2010
KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
6:00 P.M.
MAYOR PAT PORTER, PRESIDING
NOTES
J. Moore, P. Porter, B. Eldridge, M. Boyle, R. Marquis
and R. Molloy
H. Smalley
C. Freas, R. Koch, K. Stearns, T. Eubank and M.
Tilly
City Manager Koch noted, he wanted Council to know the direction Administration
was going and wanted general direction from Council in order to put the direction into
a policy.
Finance Director Eubank reviewed his handout information and noted the current
forms of payment at City Hall and at the Airport; there had been requests to be able to
use credit cards for payments at the Animal Control Shelter and City Hall; reviewed
computer system upgrades that would need to be made, fees involved; and, referred to
the options (and the pros and cons) as:
1. Continue with status quo.
2. Expand the acceptance of credit and debit cards at all City facilities and
expand the variety of payments accepted via the Internet.
3. Expand acceptance of credit cards at City Hall and animal Control for
non -water and sewer transactions less than $400 adding a S2.00 fee to each
transaction. Also expand acceptance of credit cards at City Hall for water and sewer
transactions adding a $1.50 fee to all transactions. A change in provider of Internet
payments for water and sewer bills would be required to keep the $1.50 per
transaction fee consistent. Debit card and electronic funds transfer payments would
be free with no transaction limit
4. Expand acceptance of credit cards at City Hall and Animal Control for
non -water and sewer transactions less than 5400 adding a 52.50 fee to all
transactions. Also expand acceptance of credit cards at City Hall for water and sewer
transactions adding a $1.00 fee to all transactions. A change in provider of Internet
payments for water and sewer bills will take place to keep the $1.00 per transaction
fee consistent. Debit card and electronic funds transfer payments will be free with no
transaction limit
It was noted, Administration recommended Option #3 as it could be re- evaluated and
changed and if credit cards are accepted, debit cards would also be accepted on any
item.
KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
JANUARY 12, 2009
PAGE 2
Kenai Fire Department Staff and Response Capabilities
City Manager Koch noted no increase to staffing at the Fire Department would be
included in the upcoming budget because of the grant opportunities available. If a
grant was not awarded, Council would be presented a supplemental budget request
for consideration in order to cover the costs of staffing.
Chief Tilly reviewed info uiation distributed to Council at the work session, noting the
issue as whether the City of Kenai should add three more positions to Fire Department
staffing, discussed current staffing, shift design, staffing for emergencies, performance
criteria, calls per firefighter comparison, and, leave hours and overtime disbursement.
Solution options, and the pros and cons, were offered as:
1. Do nothing
2. Hire three additional firefighters
Administration recommendation was to hire three additional personnel to allow the
Department to respond in a safer manner to hazardous situations, allow the
Department to come closer to the NFPA and OSHA national recognized standards, and
allow a request for one Basic Life Support and one Advanced Life Support ambulance
call before additional resources or recalls are required.
If was noted, if no grant was awarded, the cost to the City would be $250,000, plus
560,000 for training.
City of Kenai /Ambulance Billing Policy
Finance Department Eubank reviewed infouuation distributed to Council at the work
session, noting the City had been billing for ambulance services since 1995 and had
no formal policy of collections or bill write off, outstanding receivables for ambulance
billings were $644,638 through December 31, 2009 and were continuing to grow at
approximately $100,000 per year.
Eubank reviewed the different levels of services billed and payee types (self pay,
Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance companies, and Veterans Administration).
Solutions, and the pros and cons for each, were reviewed as follows:
1. Do nothing. The City would continue to invoice ambulance billings
utilizing the current process.
2. Implement differential tax rates for citizens of Kenai and non citizens.
3. The Finance Department would continue to perform ambulance billings
and the Legal Department would institute a collection policy to collect outstanding
balances including those existing balances that were less than six years old.
KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
JANUARY 12, 2009
PAGE 3
4. Utilize a third party billing agent to process ambulance billings and
implement a collection policy for collection of all unpaid balances less than six years
old.
5. Utilize a third party billing agent to process ambulance billings and take
collection action on past due accounts of three years or less after screening for
financial hardship and /or patient death.
6. Initiate collection processes for ambulance billing accounts less than
three years old that had been screened for financial hardship and/or patient death.
Future billing would be done by a third party and would be screened for financial
hardship using data obtained from Central Peninsula Hospital's charity care policy.
Collection action would continue on future unpaid accounts.
Administration recommendation was Option #6 as it would provide the best balance in
billing and collections while providing opportunity for the public to avoid financial
hardship. A third party billing agency would be employed which would place the
responsibility for patient confidentiality with experts in the field and would also
provide expertise in billing public assistance programs as well as private insurance.
It was noted, the solution would also provide a balance between patient financial
accountability and hardship; patient bills could be reduced or eliminated by the
patient using the CPH's Charity Care Policy; and, a formal collection policy would be
implemented and could include in -house efforts by the City's Legal Department and
third party collection services.
Administration would move forward and continue to tune the policy which would be
brought to Council for consideration.
The work session ended at approximately 8:00 p.m.
Notes prepared by:
Carol L. Freas, City Clerk