HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 19361ORDINANCE ND. I9361
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORISING THE CITY FINANCE G FFICER TD MODIFY,
COMPROMISE, OR CANCEL CLAIMS DUE THE CITY; ADDING SECTION
2.582 TO THE EUGENE CODE, I9lI; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
THE CITY OF EUGENE DDE5 ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
5ectian I. There is hereby added to the Eugene Code, 197I, a new sec
tion, to be numbered and provide:
2.582 Finance De artment - Modification Cam romise or Cancellation of
Claims.
~Z} As used in this section "claim" shall mean any sum due the
city from another and includes but is not limited to taxes, assessments,
fines, fees, charges, rents, penalties, payments, amounts due the city on
contracts or arising from damages sustained by the city. It sha11 also in-
clude any interest due thereon.
~2~ Except as provided in subsections ~3~ and ~4~ of this section,
it shall be the duty of the finance officer to collect all claims in fu11 and
to take all actions necessary in the discretion of the finance officer to
collect the claims.
(3) when in the discretion of the finance officer it appears in
the best interest of the city or it appears the cast of requiring timely pay-
ment is not justified, the finance officer may extend the time for payment
of a claim or the rate of interest thereon, or bath. In consideration far
such a modification of the claim, the finance officer may require additional
security to insure its payment.
~4) The finance officer may compromise, settle, or cancel any
claim when it is in the city`s financial interest and:
~a} inhere 1 i ti gati on involving the vat i di ty of the c1 ai m i s
pending or seriously threatened and there is a grave legal ques-
tion as to the validity of the claim;
fib} i~hen, notwithstanding section 2.58D, accepting payment
in the form of property of equal or greater value than the claim
insures payment of the claim that otherwise may be uncallectible
or collectible at great expense to the city;
~c~ inhere good and sufficient cause is shown and the amount
of the claim i s $ID or 1 ess;
~d~ then any claim has been delinquent for seven or more
years and:
I. All reasonable efforts have been made to effect col-
t ecti on ,
2. The person against whom the city has a claim cannot
be located or is dead, and
3. The claim is wholly uncollectible.
~e~ ir~hen the finance officer determines that the administra-
tion and collection costs involved would exceed the amount that
can reasonably be expected to be recovered;
~ f ~ i~hen the property against whi ch a city 1 i en exists i s
Ordinance - 1
donated to the city, provided the city makes no-payment for the
property and the property is not pledged as security to the holders
of any evidence of city indebtedness; or
fig} When the adjustment of the claim involves only interest
or penalties which were imposed by a discretionary administrative
decision .
~5} The authority granted the finance officer in this section does
not allow the waiver of any sum due the city under this code or state law
the payment of which is a precondition to receiving a benefit, service, deci-
sion, permit or privilege issued or to be performed by the city.
~6} Any modification, compromise, settlement or cancellation of a
claim under this section shall be reviewed by the city attorneys reduced to
writing, signed when possible by the parties thereto, and recorded when
necessary. Such agreements shall provide that in the event the obligor has
withheld or misrepresented material facts or committed fraud, a penalty in
the amount of the original claim shall be added to the sums then due and the
entire amount shall be immediately due and payable to the city, and such
other provisions as may be required by the finance officer.
Section ~. That the matters contained herein concern the public welfare
and in order to insure the orderly implementation thereof, an emergency is
hereby declared to exist, and this Qrdinance shall become effective immedi~
ately upon its passage by the Council and approval by the Mayor.
Passed by the City Council this
14th day of Qctober, 1985
l~.~c.~-~c... ~--f d? ,~.c«
~S~City corder
Approved by the Mayor, this
14th d~',y~~eff O~tobgF, 1985
Mayor
Qrdinance ~ Z