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Court-ordered entity will handle Petersburg utility money now

Posted at 7:17 PM, Oct 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-04 19:22:18-04

PETERSBURG, Va. -- A judge ruled today that money received from Petersburg citizens, for wastewater service bills, will now bypass the general fund and go to a "Special Receiver."

That entity will send money directly to the South Central Wastewater Authority.

"The allegation is that the city's been taking in money from people who pay their utility bills, but that they're not paying it back out to the wastewater folks," said CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone. "And wastewater treatment folks are saying, look Petersburg accounts for a substantial portion of our income and we can't stay in business and continue to do what we do unless we have their money."

special-receiver

How the court order works involves the appointment of a "Special Receiver," or a person or company that will now handle some of the money coming into the City of Petersburg when people or businesses pay their utility bill.

"The money people pay will be put directly into this pot, called a receiver, where it's sort of entrusted with someone else's care and then that person has the responsibility for paying it over to the wastewater treatment facility," says CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone.

Petersburg City Treasurer Kevin Brown says he received the paperwork from the court case late Tuesday afternoon. "So I'm looking through the documents now to see what documentation they will need from me to continue in this process," said Brown.

The order also includes a clause for some of the funds received from the City Treasurer to pay the premium on an indemnity bond the "Special Receiver" has to obtain, as well as paying the special receiver's hourly fee for work performed and payment of any accountant fees for accounting or audit services contracted by the special receiver.

The court document shows Bruce Matson, with LeClairRyan as the special receiver.

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