PANAMA CITY — Commissioners are set to consider Tuesday a plan to resurface local roads and decide whether to hire an agency to collect unpaid bills for county ambulance rides.
BayCounty commissioners are slated to discuss entering into a contract with Chicago-based DSG to provide collection services for delinquent bills for ambulance rides. The county took over the ambulance service last year from Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System, which went private under a long-term lease.
“We haven’t done any bad debt collections at all yet,” said Mark Bowen, chief of emergency services for Bay County.
The county has hired a billing company that is sending out invoices and making calls to people who have not paid for the ambulance rides.
Staff is recommending the county hire DSG to collect payments on bills that are at least 270 past days due, with the firm earning 18 percent of what it collects on the debt. The proposed agreement with DSG would allow the firm to accept payments on all assigned accounts, with a finance charge of 1 percent per month being added to all accounts referred to the collection agency.
The commission also is slated Tuesday to vote on a resurfacing bid for local roads. The lowest bidder was GAC Contractors Inc., which put in a bid of $541,116, and staff is recommending the firm for the work. The annual Phase 2 program would resurface about 2.3 miles of local roads and three intersections that are in poor condition.
The roads that would be resurfaced are: Michigan Avenue from 23rd Street to 24th Street; State 390 from State 77 to Michigan Avenue; County 389 from State 77 to Pennsylvania Avenue; Brook Forest Drive from County 390 to 43rd Street; 43rd Street from Transmitter Road to Black Forest Drive; 13th Street from Sherman Avenue to East Avenue; College Avenue from 11th Street to 13th Street; and 11th Court from Everitt Avenue to School Avenue.
After the regular council meeting, commissioners are scheduled to hold a budget workshop on its enterprise funds, which include water and building services.
The commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Bay County Government Center at 840 W. 11th St.