CALLAWAY — Callaway city commissioners had three choices: hire a new employee, keep the city’s billing service inefficient or outsource to a collection service.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the commission chose to contract with Credit Business Services Inc. for a six-month trial period. The lockbox service, which costs a monthly fee of $50 and a 65-cents charge per transaction, will take away the three billing employees’ responsibility of processing mailed checks. All mailed checks, about half of Callaway’s total water and sewer bills, will be sent to a special post office box.
City Manager Michael Fuller believes this was the cheaper option, with an estimated cost of $25,000. However, Fuller believes the cost will be a wash because Lockbox will eliminate employee overtime, which are accrued most months taking care of collections before the 15th. Credit Business Services owner Tommy Cooley believes the city will save money, citing his experience with homeowners associations that use the service.
But it was a divisive issue for commissioners Bob Pelletier and Melba Covey and all of the Callaway citizens that spoke out Tuesday night. Pelletier believes the city should try to fix any problems internally, instead of outsourcing the service.
“It will cost the city something,” Pelletier said.
Covey cited a suggestion in a recent audit: a two-cycle billing structure.
“My position is that this problem has never been identified until the last six or eight months,” Covey said.
Warren Averett’s audit cost about $15,000 and spearheaded by Pelletier and Covey this summer. The audit recommends the city hire another employee to take care of billing concerns. Since 2010, the city staff of Callaway has decreased from 84 to 70.
“We have to relieve them,” Fuller said of overworked employees.
In other business, Fuller addressed the $1,900 water bill sent to Callaway resident Chris Coffey. Fuller said the only logical explanation for the bill was an error by the city and the city will waive the charges.