City of Hillsboro discusses utility deposit system
The Hillsboro City Council met on Tuesday, April 20 and discussed the utility deposit system. Council member Brent Driggers was absent. “Currently if a customer cannot produce a letter of credit from a previous utility they are required to post a $125 deposit. The deposit is held for one year or until the utility service is discontinued. Deposits are refunded with interested earned at the end of the year. If someone discontinues service and leaves without paying their final bill the deposit is credited to the outstanding balance,” said City Administrator Matt Stiles.
Stiles went on to explain that bookkeeping for the deposits requires a significant amount of monthly paperwork and never balances out. He said that state statute requires that the city pay customers an interest rate on their deposits that is set by the Kansas Corporation Commission.