owsnr Ae. Rscuenr a hateert mw Macon Bibb Connty Ms. Janice Ross Clerk of Commission Macon-Bibb County Dear Janice, "have carefully considered the arguments both for and against changing solid waste fe billing from the curent annual basis back toa quarely basis, After eareil deliberation ofthe saving tothe ‘community, the inreasd rate of collections, and the Flexibility it provides poope to pay, Iespetflly ‘VETO the ordinance passed on August 7, 2018, which would have reseinded annual billing. While we have ear the concer regarding the annual billig, many citizens with a mortgage escrow account ave elected 0 include the erge fein the monthly escrow payment, of simply pay the $5240 annua amount along with ther taxes. want to remind you that objections and cancems were raised by others, and we made accommodations for those concems, + You, s the Commission, made the decision to allow exemptions for poverty and disability, and the fee was removed forots with an uninhabitable strut, ‘+ The Tax Commissioner set up his payment system so poople can pay in advance weekly, ‘monthly, quarterly annually, or whatever works for them, which should alleviate any concern withthe Tull amount being due atone tine, I also means they are not faced wit ate penalty every three months. *+ The Tax Commissioner, as he does with property tax collections, i worcng with people who are having dificuly paying ‘When this process was approve, it was meant to reduce the cast to Macon-Bibb County and to increase collection rates. The Tax Commissioner ued examples of other communities that showed how {hei collection rates had gone up with annul billing, and We said we shoud pve this process ime to see ifthe same happeed here. As we have not yet ad a fll yar of ealletin, or even had the payments due with property txes as approved, we have not yet hd the chance to determine what the full ncease will be, Despite that, erly estimates show us collecting more funds when compared to previous Yeats. “The Tax Commissioner has budgeted this year and purchase the software to fully implement annual biting so change back to quately could cost mare tan $130,000 upfront to put the ok system back in place. That sin addition othe ational funds needed to send bills quarterly (approximately $30,000 ‘er quarter) and dedicating additional staf ine to collecting and following up with dlinguent ils, Ou Finance Department ads that a change to quarterly billing will havea significant negative impact to out cashflow in Fiscal Year 2019.Re: Solid Waste Fee Billing ‘August 16,2018 Page 2 ‘These ate tight budget mes, and it would be fiscally imesponsible to add this much in expenses wile ‘reducing revenue collections and causing stress to our cash low. You nade dificult devsion to reduce costs, inerease collection rates, and provide people te ability to pay asthey are able ovr the course of yeas {am hopeful that the Commissioners, after careful consideration, wil sustain my veto. Please advise them of my decision and provide each with copy ofthis eter. Haklk fched Robert A.B. Reichert Mayor RABRiih Enclosure