Some Cincinnati Council members want more answers after a report last week said the city paid more than $175,000 in late fees because it didn't pay its Duke utility bills on time.
The city manager says the issues have been corrected. But that isn't good enough for Council Member Chris Seelbach.
“It is a duty of the person who is charged with paying bills to pay them on time, and if they don’t, and at the expense of $175,000, I want to hear from them,” Seelbach said. “The taxpayers deserve to hear from them.”
The city manager said the problem was spread across many departments since the city receives more than 400 Duke bills each month. The issue started in January 2014 when Duke changed its late fee policy.
Council Member Kevin Flynn said the good news is the problem is fixed.
“I share Mr. Seelbach’s sense that that was $175,000 that could have gone for some very worthy things,” Flynn said. “But at least now it’s not going to be another $175,000 that is wasted.”
The manager says new, tighter processes should prevent such late fees in the future.
