Unpaid bills amnesty

In Arizona, delinquent utility users in Surprise's Original Town Site owed the city about $262,000 in unpaid sewer and trash bills - some a decade old - but the city forgave 81 percent of the debt, according to public records. The City Council in March established the amnesty program, allowing people in 101 households to set up a payment plan with the city to bring their accounts current.

As of last week, about 20 percent of the accounts have been paid in full, but 14 people who set up payment plans have defaulted on them, resulting in a planned water shutoff either late this month or in July. The remaining debt is $40,102. However, the city will not see about $9,576 of that amount because 21 accounts are closed. City officials said that the customer moved out of the property or the land is now vacant. In one case, the customer died. The utility billing software contains a facility to write bills off.