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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 06/07/2016 - ITEMS RELATING TO UPDATING THE CODE OF THE CITY OFAgenda Item 4 Item # 4 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY June 7, 2016 City Council STAFF John Voss, Controller/Assistant Financial Officer Lisa Rosintoski, Utilities Customer Connections Manager SUBJECT Items Relating to Updating the Code of the City of Fort Collins Pertaining to Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 064, 2016, Amending Section 23-130 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins and Adding a Division 4 to Article IV in City Code Chapter 23 to Provide New Procedures for the City’s Disposition of Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property. B. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 065, 2016, Codifying the Utilities Payment Assistance Program and Amending Chapter 26 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to Authorize Expenditure of Amounts Donated to the Program and Forfeited Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property Held by the Utilities Pursuant to Division 4, Article IV of Chapter 23 of the Code. These Ordinances, unanimously adopted on First Reading on May 17, 2016, update City Code for the processing of unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property owned by others that is in the City’s possession for various reasons. State law authorizes local governments to have formal procedures in place in order to assume ownership of unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property. Alternatively, the City would have to turn the property over to the State of Colorado. Existing City Code Section 23-130 has provided these formal procedures but needs updating. On April 18, 2016, the Council Finance Committee reviewed the proposed changes and recommended that this item be presented to the City Council for consideration. However, since the Committee reviewed these changes as found in Ordinance No. 064, 2016, this Ordinance has been revised to clarify how intangible property coming into the City’s possession through law enforcement activities or as lost and found property will be disposed of under the Ordinance. Proposed changes to Chapter 26-Utilities are also included to recognize how unclaimed funds from the utility enterprises will be managed once they are declared forfeited under Chapter 23. Ordinance No. 065, 2016, amending Chapter 26 provides that such unclaimed and forfeited utilities funds are directed to the Payment Assistance Program. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary May 17, 2016 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 064, 2016 (PDF) 3. Ordinance No. 065, 2016 (PDF) Agenda Item 9 Item # 9 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY May 17, 2016 City Council STAFF John Voss, Controller/Assistant Financial Officer Lisa Rosintoski, Utilities Customer Connections Manager SUBJECT Items Relating to Updating the Code of the City of Fort Collins Pertaining to Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 064, 2016, Amending Section 23-130 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins and Adding a Division 4 to Article IV in City Code Chapter 23 to Provide New Procedures for the City’s Disposition of Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property. B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 065, 2016, Codifying the Utilities Payment Assistance Program and Amending Chapter 26 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to Authorize Expenditure of Amounts Donated to the Program and Forfeited Unclaimed and Abandoned Intangible Personal Property Held by the Utilities Pursuant to Division 4, Article IV of Chapter 23 of the Code. The purpose of this item is to update City Code for the processing of unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property owned by others that is in the City’s possession for various reasons. State law authorizes local governments to have formal procedures in place in order to assume ownership of unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property. Alternatively, the City would have to turn the property over to the State of Colorado. Existing City Code Section 23-130 has provided these formal procedures but they are in need of updating. On April 18, 2016, the Council Finance Committee reviewed the proposed changes and recommended that this item be presented to the City Council for consideration. However, since the Committee reviewed these changes as found in Ordinance No. 064, 2016, this Ordinance has been revised to clarify how intangible property coming into the City’s possession through law enforcement activities or as lost and found property will be disposed of under the Ordinance. Proposed changes to Chapter 26-Utilities are also included to recognize how unclaimed funds from the utility enterprises will be managed once they are declared forfeited under Chapter 23. Ordinance No. 065, 2016, amending Chapter 26 provides that such unclaimed and forfeited utilities funds are directed to the Payment Assistance Program. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The City holds primarily three types of unclaimed intangible personal properties: uncashed checks, credit balances on utility customer accounts, and unclaimed construction related deposit escrows. Average annual amounts that go unclaimed are about $60,000 on 180 checks not cashed and $43,000 from credit balances on 950 Utility customer accounts. Unclaimed construction deposit escrows are uncommon. The proposed new process is summarized as follows:  After 1 year without the owner claiming the property, the property is presumed abandoned ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 9 Item # 9 Page 2  Notices then distributed o All abandoned properties will be listed on city website fcgov.com o Letters written to last known address of owner for amounts $125 or more, or emailed if known  Claimants have 1 year to file proof of claim  If proof of claim is not filed timely, the intangible personal property is forfeited to the City Staff plans to initiate the notification process in batches once a year. Upon the forfeiture of the property the fund holding the assets retains them for purposes of that fund, except for utility funds. Forfeited property held by the utility funds will be transferred to the Payment Assistance Program. Since the Council Finance Committee reviewed at its April 18th meeting these proposed changes to the disposition procedures for intangible personal property, the provisions of Ordinance No. 064, 2016, have been revised. This Ordinance has been revised to further clarify how intangible personal property seized or otherwise acquired by the City through its law enforcement activities or delivered to the City, usually to Police Services, by persons who have found lost or abandoned property, which is often money, will be disposed of under the Ordinance. Section 23-131 has been revised to make it clear that intangible personal property seized or otherwise acquired in the City’s law enforcement activities will not be subject to disposition under this Ordinance unless and until the property is no longer needed for law enforcement purposes, it is not being disposed of within the law enforcement process, and the property remains unclaimed by the owner of the property. In such event, the property is to be disposed of in accordance with the same procedures set out in the Ordinance for other intangible personal property. Section 23-138 has been added to address the disposition of lost and found property. By its nature, lost and found property has two possible claimants to ownership: the owner of the property at the time it was lost or abandoned by that owner and the person finding the property. Under the laws governing property rights, if the original owner does not claim the property, the finder is entitled to claim ownership of it. The procedures in Section 23-138 provide for a shorter 90-day notice period than for the other kinds of intangible personal property in the City’s possession and recognize the finder’s claim to ownership if the original owner does not come forward to claim the property. If neither the original owner nor the finder claims the property, the ownership of the property is forfeited to and vested in the City. The second recommended Ordinance (No. 064) amends the provisions of Chapter 26 – Utilities to provide that utility funds that are unclaimed and forfeited under Chapter 23 will be directed to the Utilities’ Payment Assistant Program (the “Program”). The purpose of the Program is to provide financial assistance to residential utility customers experiencing financial hardship in order to maintain utility services. The Program has been in existence since 2004 and qualifies as an “Alternative Energy Assistance Program” under the Colorado Low-Income Energy Assistance Act (the “Act”) created under CRS §40-8.7 101, et seq. The Act requires investor-owned utilities to contribute unclaimed funds to a state low-income energy assistance program and permits municipal utilities to create a local payment assistance program in lieu of contributing to the state fund. The Program financial criteria provides temporary assistance to residential utility customers experiencing financial challenges, including but not limited to seniors on fixed incomes, disabled customers, and low-income individuals. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Forfeited monies held by the Utility Funds will be used in the Payment Assistance Program. All others will be retained by the fund holding the forfeited intangible personal property. The annual amount of all forfeited intangible personal properties is about $100,000. Spending these monies shall remain subject to City Council Appropriation. Agenda Item 9 Item # 9 Page 3 BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The Council Finance Committee approved the proposed changes to the Code at its meeting on April 18, 2016. In addition, Utilities staff presented the Low Income Assistance Program, which included the unclaimed funds proposal, to both Energy Board and Water Board on February 4, 2016, and February 18, 2016, respectively. In addition, Utilities staff presented the Low Income Assistance Program, which included the unclaimed funds proposal, to both Energy Board and Water Board on February 4, 2016, and January 21, 2016, respectively, and they each recommended approval. ATTACHMENTS 1. Council Finance Committee Minutes April 18, 2016 (PDF) 2. Water Board Minutes January 21, 2016 (PDF) 3. Energy Board Minutes February 4, 2016 (PDF) -1- ORDINANCE NO. 064, 2016 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 23-130 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AND ADDING A DIVISION 4 TO ARTICLE IV IN CITY CODE CHAPTER 23 TO PROVIDE NEW PROCEDURES FOR THE CITY’S DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED AND ABANDONED INTANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY WHEREAS, the City and its various service areas, utilities, departments and divisions routinely acquire possession of personal property owned by others; and WHEREAS, this property is both tangible personal property (i.e., bicycles, equipment and similar items having a physical existence) and intangible personal property (i.e., money owed, utility deposits and similar property having a value unrelated to any physical existence); and WHEREAS, when both tangible and intangible personal property owned by others comes into the City’s possession and remains unclaimed by the owner, the City is currently required to dispose of this property using the same procedures set out in City Code Section 23-130; and WHEREAS, staff is recommending that Section 23-130 be updated to provide separate disposition procedures for tangible and intangible personal property because of the different natures of these two types of property and the differences in the ways that the City typically acquires possession of these properties; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance sets forth the new procedures that will be followed for the City’s disposition of unclaimed or abandoned intangible personal property; and WHEREAS, without the current disposition procedures in Section 23-130 or the new procedures in this Ordinance, the City would be required to periodically deliver such unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property to the Colorado State Treasurer for disposition in accordance with the Colorado Unclaimed Property Act in Article 13 of Title 38 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (the “Act”); and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the adoption of this Ordinance is in the City’s best interest and will contribute to the fair and efficient administration of the City’s disposition of intangible personal property coming into its possession that remains unclaimed or has been abandoned by the owner; and WHEREAS, the City Council also hereby determines that it intends, in the exercise of the City’s home rule authority and as authorized in C.R.S. Section 38-13-134, that the disposition procedures for unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property set forth in this Ordinance shall supersede and replace in all respects any and all conflicting provisions in the Act. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: -2- Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That Section 23-130 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 23-130. - Disposition of lost, abandoned or other unclaimed property. Except as otherwise specifically provided for by law, by Division 4 of this Article, or by other ordinance, any property seized or otherwise obtained by the City and not sold or destroyed as perishable, hazardous or illegal property and which property has not been claimed by or surrendered to the rightful owner may be disposed of in the following manner: . . . Section 3. That Chapter 23, Article IV is hereby amended by the addition of a new Division 4 which reads in its entirety as follows: Division 4 Intangible Personal Property Sec. 23-131 Applicability. This Division shall only be applicable to property the City acquires in the ordinary course of the City’s operations, excluding property seized or otherwise acquired by the City in connection with a criminal investigation conducted by City law enforcement officials that is being held in connection with the investigation or any resulting prosecution except as set forth in this Section. Once such criminal investigation property is no longer needed for the investigation or any resulting prosecution, if the property is not to be disposed of as required by a court order issued in the prosecution or as required by the abatement of public nuisance provisions in Part 3 of Article 13 of Title 16 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, and the property remains unclaimed by the owner, said property shall be deemed abandoned as provided in §23-133(a) and disposed of in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Division. Sec. 23-132 Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases when used in this Division shall have the meaning given to them in this Section, unless the context requires otherwise: Financial Officer shall mean the City’s Financial Officer or such person’s designee. Lost property shall mean property that has been lost or abandoned by the owner and found by another person and that person has delivered the property to the City for the owner to claim. -3- Last-known address shall mean the most recent address in the City’s records sufficient for the delivery of mail to the owner. Owner shall mean the person whose name appears in the City’s records as the person entitled to property held, issued, or owing by the City or such other person that may be known to the Financial Officer as potentially entitled to ownership of such property. Person shall mean an individual, business association, state or other government, governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, public authority, estate, trust, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. Potentially entitled to ownership of property shall mean having a claim to property as the depositor in the case of a deposit or a creditor, claimant, or payee in the case of other intangible property; the owner of lost property; the finder of lost property; or by having demonstrated any other legal or equitable interest in the property. Property shall mean all moneys, checks, drafts, deposits, account credits, overpayments, unused advance payments, refunds, rebates, uncollected remittances, and any other intangible personal property. Utilities shall mean the City’s electric, water, wastewater, stormwater, and any other utilities established under the Charter or Code. Sec. 23-133 Property presumed abandoned. (a) Except as provided by paragraphs (b) and (d) of this Section, all property that is held, issued, or owing in the ordinary course of the City’s operations and has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than one (1) year after it became owing, payable, or distributable, less any offsets authorized in §23-136, is presumed abandoned. (b) Any unused utility deposit, unused advance payment paid to and held by the utilities for utility services to be furnished, and any other unused customer account credit owing by utilities that remains unclaimed by the owner for more than one (1) year after termination of the utility service to which the deposit, advance payment, or account credit pertains, less any offsets authorized in §23-136, is presumed abandoned. (c) Property is owing, payable, or distributable for the purposes of this Division notwithstanding the owner’s failure to make demand or to present to the City any instrument or document required to receive payment from the City. (d) Lost property shall not be presumed abandoned, but shall be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of §23-138. Sec. 23-134 Notice of abandoned property. -4- (a) When the Financial Officer determines that property is presumed abandoned under §23-133, the Financial Officer shall cause the following notices to be provided regarding that property: (1) There shall be posted on the City’s website and easily accessible for public inspection, an alphabetical list of the names of the owners of abandoned property with a general description of the abandoned property corresponding to each name and this posting for the property shall remain on the City’s website until the property is disposed of pursuant to this Division; and (2) There shall be sent by first-class mail to the last-known addresses of the owners a written notice advising them of the property the City holds that is presumed abandoned under this Division. However, a notice need not be mailed to an owner if the value of the property is less than one hundred and twenty five dollars ($125). In addition, if the City has in its records an email address for the owner, the notice shall be emailed to that address regardless of the value of the property. (b) The notices required in paragraph (a) of this Section shall include the following additional information: (1) a statement that information concerning the property may be obtained by any person possessing an interest in the property by sending or making an inquiry to the Financial Officer at a stated mailing address, email address, and telephone number, each established by the Financial Officer for responding to such inquiries; (2) a statement that any person claiming an interest in the property must timely file a proof of claim with the Financial Officer as required in §23-135 and a statement of the final date by which it will be considered timely filed under §23- 135; and (3) the proof of claim form required to be filed under §23-135, which form shall be printable and downloadable from the City’s website. Sec. 23-135 Filing proof of claim and Financial Officer’s decision. (a) A person claiming an interest as an owner of any property presumed abandoned under this Division shall file with the Financial Officer a completed proof of claim on a form prescribed by the Financial Officer. That form must be filed with the Financial Officer not more than one (1) year after the later of: (i) the date of the initial posting of the notice on the City’s website, and (ii) the date of the mailing of the written notice, as both are required under §23-134. If helpful to identify the claimant as the owner of the abandoned proper or if needed for tax purposes, the Financial Officer may require the claimant to include on the proof of claim form his or her social security number or its -5- federal employer identification number, as applicable. The social security number or federal employer identification number shall be kept confidential by the City to the full extent permitted by law. (b) The Financial Officer shall consider each claim and give written notice within ninety (90) days after the filing of the claim to the claimant if the claim is denied in whole or part or if the Financial Officer intends to seek a judicial determination as provide in paragraph (d) of this Section. The notice may be given by sending it by first- class mail to the mailing address and to the email address stated in the proof of claim by the claimant as the addresses to which such notice is to be sent. No notice of denial need be sent to claimant if the proof of claim fails to state mailing and email addresses to which such notice is to be sent to the claimant. (c) If the claim is allowed by the Financial Officer, the City shall pay over or deliver to the claimant the property, but less any offsets authorized in §23-136. The Financial Officer may condition such delivery to the claimant by requiring the claimant to provide the City with such signed written releases and indemnification agreements as the Financial Officer determines are reasonably necessary to protect the City from future claims of other persons claiming ownership to the property. (d) If the Financial Officer receives more than one conflicting claim to any property or if the Financial Officer determines, after consultation with the City Attorney, that it is in the City’s best interest to seek a judicial determination concerning any claim, the City Attorney is authorized to seek that judicial determination by filing an action in either Larimer County District Court or in Municipal Court. (e) A claimant aggrieved by a decision of the Financial Officer or whose claim has not been acted upon by the Financial Officer within ninety (90) days after the person’s filing of a proof of claim under this Section, may bring an action in Larimer County District Court or in Municipal Court to establish the claim, naming the City as a defendant. The action must be brought within one hundred eighty (180) days after the Financial Officer’s decision or within one (1) year after the person’s filing of the proof of claim if the Financial Officer has failed to act on it. Sec. 23-136 City offsets and interest. The Financial Officer may offset from any monetary amount owed and paid to a claimant under §23-135 any fees, charges, taxes, fines, penalties, interest, costs, and any other amounts owed to the City by the claimant under any contract with the City, under this Code, or under any other law. The City shall have no obligation to pay to the owner and the owner shall have no right to receive any interest on any property paid or distributed to the owner pursuant to this Division. Sec. 23-137 Forfeiture, use and sale of abandoned property. -6- (a) If a proof of claim for property presumed abandoned under §23-133, and for which the notices required by §23-134 have been provided, is not timely filed with the Financial Officer as required by §23-135(a), the property shall be deemed forfeited to the City and ownership and title to that property shall vest in the City. Such forfeiture and vesting of ownership and title shall occur as of the day immediately following the last day for the filing a proof of claim under §23-135(a). In such event, the City may retain the property for its own use or sale the property as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this Section. (b) When a proof of claim has been timely filed under §23-135 and the Financial Officer has either not timely issued a decision concerning the claim or issued a decision denying the claim in whole or part, the claimant’s failure to file an action in Larimer County District Court or Municipal Court within the applicable time period required in §23-135(e) in order to establish that claim, the property shall be deemed forfeited to the City and ownership and title to that property shall vest in the City. Such forfeiture and vesting of ownership and title shall occur as of the day immediately following the claimant’s last day for filing a judicial action to establish the claim not acted on or denied by the Financial Officer under §25-135(e). In such event, the City may retain the property for its own use or sale as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this Section. (c) If the forfeited property is money or is easily converted to cash, the City may retain and use these monies for the purposes authorized for the City fund within which these monies are deposited and accounted for or for any other purpose authorized by City Council, unless the forfeited property was being held by any of the utilities. The funds from utilities-held property shall be deposited in the account of the Utilities Payment Assistance Program established in §26-722 and used for the purposes authorized in that Section. (d) If the forfeited property is not money or is not easily converted to cash, the Financial Officer shall sell the property to the highest bidder at a public sale or sell by using a regulated market or exchange, using the method that in the judgment of the Financial Officer is most favorable to the City. The Financial Officer may decline the highest bid and reoffer the property for sale if in the judgment of the Financial Officer the bid is insufficient. If in the judgment of the Financial Officer the probable cost of sale exceeds the value of the property, it need not be offered for sale. If the property is to be sold at a public sale rather than through a regulated market or exchange, that sale must be preceded by a single publication of notice, at least three (3) weeks before sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property is to be sold. The proceeds from the sale of property under this paragraph (d) may be used by the City for any purpose authorized by City Council, unless the property sold was being held by any of the utilities. The proceeds from the sale of utilities-held property shall be deposited in the account of the Utilities Payment Assistance Program established in §26-722 and used for the purposes authorized in that Section. -7- (e) The purchaser of property at any sale conducted by the Financial Officer under this Section takes the property free of all claims of any and all owners of the property and of all persons claiming through or under them. The Financial Officer shall execute all documents necessary to complete the transfer of ownership of the property to the purchaser. Sec. 23-138 Lost property. (a) When lost property is delivered to the City, the Financial Officer shall cause to be posted on the City’s website in a manner readily accessible by the public a written notice concerning the lost property. The notice shall generally describe the lost property and be posted on the City’s website for a period of not less than ninety (90) days. Also posted with the notice shall be a printable and downloadable proof of claim form prescribed by the Financial Officer. The notice shall also state the date by which a proof of claim must be filed with Financial Officer as required in paragraph (b) of this Section. (b) Any person claiming to be the owner of the lost property, including the person finding and delivering the lost property to the City, must file a completed proof of claim with the Financial Officer on or before the date stated in the notice posted under paragraph (a) of this Section. Within sixty (60) days after that date, the Financial Officer shall consider each proof of claim timely filed and take one of the following actions: (1) If the Financial Officer determines that any of the claimants is the person who owned the lost property at the time it was found, the Financial Officer may deliver the lost property to that claimant; (2) If the Financial Officer determines that none of the claimants is the person who owned the lost property at the time it was found, the Financial Officer may deliver the lost property to the claimant who found and delivered the lost property to the City; or (3) If the Financial Officer determines, after consultation with the City Attorney, that it is in the City’s best interest to seek a judicial determination concerning any claim or conflicting claims, the City Attorney is authorized to seek that judicial determination by filing an action either in Larimer County District Court or in Municipal Court. (c) Before delivering the lost property to a claimant as provide in subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (b) of this Section, the Financial Officer may require the claimant to provide the City with such signed written releases and indemnification agreements as the Financial Officer may determine are reasonably necessary to protect the City from future claims of other persons claiming ownership to the lost property. (d) In the event no proof of claim is timely filed with the Financial Officer in accordance with this Section, the lost property shall be deemed forfeited to the City and ownership and title to the lost property shall vest in the City. Such forfeiture and vesting -8- shall occur as of the day immediately following the last day for the filing of a proof of claim as provide in paragraph (b) of this Section. In such event, the City may retain the lost property for its own use as provided in paragraph (c) of §23-137 or sell the lost property as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of §23-137. (e) Any person who finds lost property while performing his or her duties as a City employee shall not be considered as the finder of lost property under this Section and any legal rights to ownership of that lost property that might accrue to the City employee shall be deemed to be the City’s ownership rights as the employee’s employer. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 17th day of May, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of June, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on this 7th day of June, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk -1- ORDINANCE NO. 065, 2016 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS CODIFYING THE UTILITIES PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND AMENDING CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE OF AMOUNTS DONATED TO THE PROGRAM AND FORFEITED UNCLAIMED AND ABANDONED INTANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY HELD BY THE UTILITIES PURSUANT TO DIVISION 4, ARTICLE IV OF CHAPTER 23 OF THE CODE WHEREAS, in 2004, the City began a utility payment assistance program for the City’s residential electric and water service customers who meet certain financial criteria, known as the Payment Assistance Program (the “Program”); and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Program is to provide financial assistance to residential utility customers experiencing a financial crisis so they may remain current with their utility bills and avoid the shut-off of utility services; and WHEREAS, the Colorado Low-Income Energy Assistance Act, codified at Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 40-8.7-101 et seq., requires investor-owned utilities to contribute to a state low-income energy assistance payment program (LEAP), and calls for municipal utilities to create their own local payment assistance programs; and WHEREAS, the Program qualifies as a local energy assistance payment program under the Low-Income Energy Assistance Act; and WHEREAS, the City administers the Program through a services agreement with a third party -- Catholic Charities Northern from January 2004 through 2015, and currently Energy Outreach Colorado; and WHEREAS, until recently, the City has funded the Program exclusively through donations from Fort Collins Utilities customers, and beginning in 2016, the Program has also received matching funds from Energy Outreach Colorado, with one hundred percent of the funds donated being used to administer emergency financial assistance for City utility customers; and WHEREAS, the Program financial criteria direct temporary residential assistance to financially-challenged customers who have received a past due utility bill notice, including but not limited to seniors on fixed incomes, disabled customers, and low-income individuals; and WHEREAS, the Program grew from helping 218 customers with $16,680 in donations in 2004, to the current five-year average (for 2011 through 2015) of helping 339 customers annually with approximately $36,475 in annual donations; and WHEREAS, in recent years, a continual increase in the number of utility customers seeking utility bill assistance has out-paced the annual rate of donations to the Program; and -2- WHEREAS, consistent with the Unclaimed Property Act and Unclaimed Utility Deposit Act, codified at Colorado Revised Statutes Section 38-13-101 et seq., and Section 40-8.5-106, respectively, the City has adopted in Division 4 of Article IV of the City Code Chapter 23 procedures for the disposition of unclaimed and abandoned intangible personal property held by Utilities, such as account credit balances, escrows, overpayments, and deposits (“Unclaimed Property Procedures”); and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Unclaimed Property Procedures, the funds coming from the utility service account credit balances, escrows, overpayments, deposits, and other intangible personal property held by Utilities that are forfeited after the property owner is given notice and a significant period of time to claim the property, are transferred to the Program account and become available for Program purposes, along with direct donations and other funds; and WHEREAS, the Council desires to codify and authorize the Utilities Executive Director to administer the Program in accordance with the guidelines and criteria described herein; and WHEREAS, the Council further desires to codify and authorize the amount and methods for funding the Program, including the use of monies received through the Unclaimed Property Procedures, as described herein; and WHEREAS, if the rate of donations, transfers under the Unclaimed Property Procedures, and other financial contributions to the Program exceed customer demand for payment assistance, Council may authorize use of Program funds for other purposes that advance utility conservation and efficiency programs for low-income customers. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes any and all determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the Council hereby finds that a Utility Payment Assistance Program administered by the City, directly or through a third party, to assist residential customers that meet certain financial criteria to remain current with City utility bills serves important utility purposes and objectives, including but not limited to reducing administrative expenses associated with billing, collection, and shut-off activities; reducing sudden system demand increases upon reconnection of services to customer premises; and stabilizing demand on other City and regional utility public assistance programs. Section 3. That the Utilities Executive Director is hereby authorized to administer said Utility Payment Assistance Program directly or through a third party in a manner consistent with the methods described herein. Section 4. That Section 26-1 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the adoption of a new definition “Payment assistance program” which reads in its entirety as follows: -3- Payment assistance program shall mean a financial assistance program implemented by the utilities to provide temporary financial assistance to qualified utility customers in paying utility service account balances, funded by donations from other City utility customers, unclaimed funds held by the utilities forfeited to the City under Division 4 of Article IV of Chapter 23 of the Code, and such other funds as may be made available for such purposes from time to time. Section 5. That Chapter 26, Article XII of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, is hereby amended by the addition of a new Section 26-722 which reads in its entirety as follows: Sec. 26-722. Utility Payment Assistance Program; purpose; funding; qualifications for assistance. (a) The Utility Payment Assistance Program, is hereby formally established for the purpose of providing temporary financial assistance to qualified utility customers in paying past-due utility bills. For purposes of this Section, “past-due” shall mean a utility bill that has not been paid by the customer within twenty three (23) days after the printing of such utility bill. (b) All deposits, bill credits, refunds, donations, escrows, and any other intangible personal property, held by the utilities and forfeited under §23-137, together with all donations from City utility customers and such other funds as may be made available from time to time for the Utilities Payment Assistance Program, shall be deposited into the Utilities Payment Assistance Program. (c) Balances in the Utilities Payment Assistance Program account may be used only to pay all or a portion of the monthly utility bill of qualified electric and water utility customers, and only consistent with the following conditions: (1) the subject service account must be in the applying customer’s name; (2) the monthly bill to which funds are applied must be past-due; (3) the applying customer must not have previously received financial assistance from the Program within the current program cycle (Oct. 1-Sept. 30); (4) no financial assistance provided through the Program may be applied to a service account deposit; and (5) the applying customer must comply with all other conditions and qualifications set forth in guidelines adopted by the Utilities Executive Director, consistent with the purposes of the Program. -4- (d) The operation of the Program is contingent upon appropriation of funds for the Program. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 17day of May, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of June, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on this 7th day of June, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk