Collection Services for Utility and Fire Department Accounts

Background
The City of Georgetown is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to provide professional collection services for delinquent utility and fire department accounts. The City provides essential services including electric, water, wastewater, garbage, stormwater, fire protection, and emergency medical response. Currently, there are over 3,000 inactive utility accounts totaling approximately $1.6 million and outstanding fire department invoices totaling approximately $1.25 million. The goal of this contract is to recover these delinquent accounts in compliance with applicable laws and industry standards.

Work Details
The contractor will be responsible for receiving account placements from the City; conducting debtor outreach; processing payments; reporting; and remitting recovered funds. Services include collection of delinquent balances related to electric, water, wastewater, stormwater, solid waste services, and fire-related services including EMS transport fees.

All work must comply with the Texas Debt Collection Act, Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, HIPAA for EMS-related accounts, and PCI-DSS standards for payment processing. The contractor must maintain separate files for each account for audit purposes and provide online access to records on a 24/7 basis. They must also accept credit card payments via telephone and ensure compliance with all relevant regulations.

Period of Performance
The contract will be effective for thirty-six (36) months from the date of award with the possibility of two additional twelve-month renewals.

Place of Performance
Services will be performed in Georgetown, Texas.

Bidder Requirements
Respondents must register as a supplier on the City’s E-bid System and comply with various certifications regarding business practices including not engaging in boycotts against Israel or energy companies. They must also certify that they are not doing business with Iran or foreign terrorist organizations.