Minutes - Council Work Session - 12/03/2007

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City Administrator Ulrich stated that he feels Opus 21 is an excellent solution for the City, but does not address the past under billing issue with Connexxus. He stated that he has been in negotiations with Connexxus and they have agreed, in writing, to 3 quarters worth of billing, which the City has already withheld from them. He stated that he feels the City is in a good position to accept that offer and move on with another billing service. He stated that 6 years of billing can legally be collected from customers, but he recommends that the City only bill back a fraction of the actual costs. He stated that as an example, the City would send a letter to the customer noting that their actual utility bill was $30,000, but because ofthe problems, the City is asking that they pay for the last years' amount of $10,000. He stated that this approach would not destroy good will and shares the costs and responsibility between the City, Connexxus and the customers. He stated that staff recommends that the City move forward with Opus 21, accept the Connexxus proposal for 3 quarters of billing and bill back a portion of the under billed utility accounts for a fraction of what is owed. Councilmember Jeffrey confirmed that the City would also be writing a check to the customers that were over billed. Finance Officer Lund stated that, to be fair, the City would write checks to those over billed. City Attorney Goodrich stated that with regard to the Vision Ease account and their bankruptcy, there is the possibility that their bankruptcy did not clear away the amount owed, however he is unsure about the statute of limitations. City Administrator Ulrich stated that he feels this is another reason to just go back one or two years and have the customers pay a fraction of their total amount owed, because this will avoid the statute of limitations issue. Councilmember Strommen asked about the Children's Learning World because this is a different entity now. Finance Officer Lund stated it would follow the property PIN#. Councilmember Elvig stated that he would like to see the City recover the amount owed for the past 2 years and pay back those that were overbilled 100%. Councilmember Dehen stated that he feels the businesses incurred the expenses and should pay for it. He stated that he feels that they have received benefit by not having to pay their bills. He stated that he feels the City should collect as far back as it can according to the statute of limitations. Mayor Gamec stated that he feels the City needs to bear some of the responsibility for the problem and feels going back only 2 years will give us a better chance of collecting money without damaging our rapport with the businesses. City Council Work Session !December 3, 2007 Page 5 of9