City Council OKs Funding to Cover Phone Bills, Fees
Still stinging from the embarrassment of paying $800,000 in late fees on phone bills, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to approve $6.3 million and a package of reforms to make sure bills are paid on time for the rest of the year.
“It’s inexcusable,” Councilman Joel Wachs said of the late fees. “Nobody was on top of this.”
Information Technology Agency officials said the late fees accrued because the budget provided only $18 million annually for phone service, when the cost is more than $23 million.
City Controller Rick Tuttle faulted the agency for not providing sufficient monitoring of bills and warning that the budget shortfall meant some bills were not paid on time.
The funding will cover remaining bills for this fiscal year and the late fees.
In addition, the council action approved an agency plan to better monitor phone bills.
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