MADISON - The Monroe Water Utility is two months late in filing its annual report with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, a practice the agency says has occurred in each of the last five years.
The utility received a 30-day extension on May 1 but as of Monday, June 3, the PSC is still looking for the report it calls "the cornerstone of our entire regulatory system."
"It's not unusual for cities the size of Monroe, to file late; we have a few but, we don't like it," said Jeff Ripp, assistant administrator of the PSC's Water Division.
The PSC uses information in the annual report to analyze a utility's financial health. Some of that data is also filed with the PSC when a utility seeks a rate increase or approval of a construction project. However, the agency wants the information submitted on an annual basis to allow it to monitor operations before significant problems occur.
Alan Eckstein, Monroe's director of utilities, acknowledged that annual reports weren't getting done on time in the past but that will change.
"We're cleaning up some issues from the past and in the future things will be done the way they should be done ... I'm confident that the 2013 report will be filed on time," Eckstein said.
Eckstein is placing his confidence in key staff, starting with City Comptroller Bridget Schuchart; Renee Weaver, the utility budget director; and himself; all have been hired within the past two years, and have brought new skills to their jobs.
"We're a newer, professional staff, not to take from anyone here in the past, but things have changed faster than Monroe has been able to keep up with," he said.
New government accounting practices, PSC rules and technology advanced at a pace the utility needed to catch up with but people are in positions to "thrive and accomplish the tasks they need to," Eckstein said.
Schuchart completed the 2009 report when she began with the city, then tackled the 2010 report when normally work on the 2011 report should be taking place, Eckstein said.
The 2011 report was "dumped on (Weaver's) lap," when she arrived and she has just sent the 2012 report to the auditors for verification, Eckstein said.
"It can be a pain in the butt when (items) get erroneously coded. Renee looks at each expenditure to get them all in the right account so when it's done, it's done right ... As we move forward things will get better ," he said.
Weaver has had limited help and was doing two jobs when her assistant was out on family leave for a number of months. Now that she is back, Weaver can focus on her budget tasks.
Some practices have been streamlined to increase efficiency, too. The utility used to have 19 checking accounts and now has two or three; the consolidation saves time and takes less effort, he said.
Filing the report is ultimately Eckstein's responsibility and he has made it and starting construction of the new wastewater treatment plant, one of his top priorities.
"It's a high priority for me. My priority was getting accounts true and accurate so annual report could be filed and our customers will have confidence in it," he said.
The PSC is pleased with its efforts to get utilities to file on time. Last year at this time, 20-some utilities hadn't filed yet; this year, only Monroe and two small sanitary districts hadn't.
The PSC gave Monroe until June 15 to submit the 2012 annual report and Ripp anticipated it would be.
"We're expecting Monroe to file that report in the near future and everything will be fine," he said.
The utility received a 30-day extension on May 1 but as of Monday, June 3, the PSC is still looking for the report it calls "the cornerstone of our entire regulatory system."
"It's not unusual for cities the size of Monroe, to file late; we have a few but, we don't like it," said Jeff Ripp, assistant administrator of the PSC's Water Division.
The PSC uses information in the annual report to analyze a utility's financial health. Some of that data is also filed with the PSC when a utility seeks a rate increase or approval of a construction project. However, the agency wants the information submitted on an annual basis to allow it to monitor operations before significant problems occur.
Alan Eckstein, Monroe's director of utilities, acknowledged that annual reports weren't getting done on time in the past but that will change.
"We're cleaning up some issues from the past and in the future things will be done the way they should be done ... I'm confident that the 2013 report will be filed on time," Eckstein said.
Eckstein is placing his confidence in key staff, starting with City Comptroller Bridget Schuchart; Renee Weaver, the utility budget director; and himself; all have been hired within the past two years, and have brought new skills to their jobs.
"We're a newer, professional staff, not to take from anyone here in the past, but things have changed faster than Monroe has been able to keep up with," he said.
New government accounting practices, PSC rules and technology advanced at a pace the utility needed to catch up with but people are in positions to "thrive and accomplish the tasks they need to," Eckstein said.
Schuchart completed the 2009 report when she began with the city, then tackled the 2010 report when normally work on the 2011 report should be taking place, Eckstein said.
The 2011 report was "dumped on (Weaver's) lap," when she arrived and she has just sent the 2012 report to the auditors for verification, Eckstein said.
"It can be a pain in the butt when (items) get erroneously coded. Renee looks at each expenditure to get them all in the right account so when it's done, it's done right ... As we move forward things will get better ," he said.
Weaver has had limited help and was doing two jobs when her assistant was out on family leave for a number of months. Now that she is back, Weaver can focus on her budget tasks.
Some practices have been streamlined to increase efficiency, too. The utility used to have 19 checking accounts and now has two or three; the consolidation saves time and takes less effort, he said.
Filing the report is ultimately Eckstein's responsibility and he has made it and starting construction of the new wastewater treatment plant, one of his top priorities.
"It's a high priority for me. My priority was getting accounts true and accurate so annual report could be filed and our customers will have confidence in it," he said.
The PSC is pleased with its efforts to get utilities to file on time. Last year at this time, 20-some utilities hadn't filed yet; this year, only Monroe and two small sanitary districts hadn't.
The PSC gave Monroe until June 15 to submit the 2012 annual report and Ripp anticipated it would be.
"We're expecting Monroe to file that report in the near future and everything will be fine," he said.