Agenda - Council Work Session - 03/16/2020 - Special

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CC Special Work Session Meeting Date: 03/16/2020 Title: Round up for Change Program Purpose/Background: Some Cities, including the City of Anoka have implemented what is known as "Round Up For Change" program. Round Up For Change is a program that rounds up utility customers' bills to the nearest dollar. For example: If an utility customer's bill was $20.01, the round up program would increase their bill to $21.00. This would be a voluntary program. The City of Anoka's program requires that its customers "opt out" of having their bill rounded -up by filling out an opt -out form. Another option that has been tried by one of the City's utility billing provider has been for residents to "opt -in" to the program. They would complete a signed form saying they are interested in the program. The opting -in option would most likely reduce a lot of phone calls if this program was implemented. Per Anoka's Policy: The Voluntary "round up" contributions would be used provide financial assistance to worth -while activities, organizations and community projects that improve the lives of families, children and seniors in our community. In 2019, Anoka Contributed $29,900 to CEAP, Crossc ACBC, Alexandra House and Youth First from the funds generated from the round -up collections. Anoka's program has 5,100 participants out of 12,150 eligible and they also bill monthly. Thus, the most that any one resident could possibly pay as part of the round up would be $11.88 annually (.99 X 12 months). Anoka confirmed that the average is about $6/yr. The City of Ramsey has approximately 9,000 utility billing accounts and bills quarterly. The maximum that could be collected from a resident as part of the round up program would be $3.96 (.99 x 4 billings). If adopted, it is recommended that funding be used to support non-profit organizations to reduce General Fund expenditures. Timeframe: 15 minutes Funding Source: Opus 21, the City's utility billing service provider, said that the implementation of the Round -Up program into their software would costs between $800-$1000. Responsible Party(ies): Finance Director Outcome: Determine if the City of Ramsey would be interested in the Round -up Program. No file(s) attached. Attachments Form Review Inbox Reviewed By Date Kurt Ulrich Kurt Ulrich 03/12/2020 04:33 PM