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PROPOSAL 3: The City of Eugene should examine methods to process the <br />weed mowing program billing statements in a more timely manner. The <br />current problems caused by the billing delays that have been charac- <br />teristic of the program were mentioned previously. Following are <br />some potential remedies for this situation: <br />1. examine the possibility of the Public Works Department <br />entering their weed mowing work orders onto their Wang <br />computer. The advantage of this procedure would be that <br />all invoices could be immediately generated on completion <br />of a pre- entered work order with dollar amounts needing <br />to be entered upon completion. This would eliminate a <br />much slower manual method and would be the first step <br />toward a faster billing process; and <br />2. examine the possibility of the Public Works Department <br />mailing the weed mowing billing statements (invoices) <br />instead of routing them through the Finance Department. <br />This would eliminate the slow inter - departmental trans- <br />ferring process. The Public Works Department would be <br />responsible for a second copy of the invoice reaching <br />the Finance Department. Reducing the time interval <br />between the actual mowing and the billing date could <br />improve our collection rate. There would be less <br />chance of properties changing ownership during the <br />interim. There would be a greater likelihood of <br />successfully pursuing delinquent accounts because the <br />mowing would remain evident for a much longer period <br />of time after the billing date than is currently the <br />case. Also, reaching customers when the service pro- <br />vided is still fresh in their minds could be of benefit. <br />As a final note, the Eugene City Code requires that the invoices <br />notify recipients of their right to protest the mowing fees up <br />to 10 days after the billing date. The invoices do not currently <br />include this information and should do so in the future. <br />PROPOSAL 4: The City of Eugene should examine the possibility of <br />prosecuting chronic abusers of the weed mowing program. <br />There are some individuals whose properties are affected by the weed <br />mowing program year after year and have never shown any indication of <br />ever paying any of the fees. In special cases as these and also large <br />accounts with a high overhead to the City, a judgement might be sought <br />in Small Claims Court. The possibility exists for the City to itself <br />affect the proceedings or to enlist the aid of a collection agency. <br />The cost effectiveness between the two would require further analysis. <br />This proposal is not meant to provide a means for recovering vast <br />revenues. It is questionable as to whether or not we would even <br />break even, but it would serve notice that the City is no longer <br />willing to stand idle in cases of flagrant abuse of the weed <br />mowing service. The impact of this proposal on compliance might <br />reduce the percentage of unpaid fees and is expected to be cost - <br />justified if applied in a reasonable manner. <br />=J- <br />