Title
Creating a policy for the write-off of patron debts
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Public Library maintains patron debts from overdue fines and items checked out and not returned on its records indefinitely; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Public Library is the only library in the MELSA system that does not have a policy for writing off old debts; and
WHEREAS, policies at other metro libraries for writing off patron dates range from seven years to one year for small fines; and
WHEREAS, 60 percent of debts older than seven years owed to the SPPLA are $40 or less and fewer than 10 percent are greater than $100; and
WHEREAS, since 2012, the Saint Paul Public Library has used Unique Management to collect fines or returned materials, which has successfully recovered $507,830 in fines or returned materials at a cost of $102,611 (as of June 30, 2015), which has proven to be an effective way to recover more recent fines and unreturned materials; and
WHEREAS, debts over seven years old where collection attempts have been made are generally uncollectable, or the cost of collection exceeds the amount collected; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul Administrative Code §96 grants authority to the Director of Finance to administratively write off debts which are uncollectible or the collection costs exceed the amount collected; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul Public Library will annually request permission for the write off of uncollectable debts older than seven years; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that staff will remove records annually of debts which the Director of Finance has approved for write-off; and be it
FINALLY RESOLVED, that any debt in the revenue recapture process will stay in the process until satisfied.