Use of a Late Fee Bill Waiver form for grazing bills

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

December 21, 2006

In Reply Refer To:
1372/4130 (220) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 12/22/2006
Instruction Memorandum No. 2007-034
Expires: 09/30/2008

To: AFO's except Eastern States and Alaska

From: Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning

Subject: Use of a Late Fee Bill Waiver form for grazing bills

Program Area: Livestock grazing administration and late fee billing and collection.

Background: The grazing regulations at 4130.8-1(h) specify that grazing bills not paid within a 15 day “grace” period after the due date shall be assessed a late fee of ten percent (10%) of the bill amount but not less than $25 or more than $250.

Billing for late fees is a function of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Collections and Billing system (CBS). The process was automated in March 2005. The BLM may waive late fees if the reason for late payment or the late recording of the payment originated with the office issuing the bill. The BLM has typically waived the late fee if, for example, BLM did not timely mail the grazing bill after it was generated by the Rangeland Administration System (RAS), if grazing fees were timely paid but not timely receipted in CBS, or other similar reasons (that cannot be attributed to actions or lack of timely action on the part of the billed party). The reason a late fee is waived must be recorded in CBS.

A review of late fee waiver requests (submitted for RAS bills since the automation of the process) found that over 70% of the waivers were: (1) associated with bills that were sent to the customer in an untimely manner, (2) the bill payment was received timely but the payment was not applied timely, or (3) there was an error made in the collections process.

The waiver form (see Attachment 1) is provided to standardize the waiver process and establish common business rules. Attachment 2 identifies common causes for waiver requests and suggested solutions to address or avoid the issue in the future. This data will be used to improve grazing billing and collections processes.

Policy/Action: All late fee waiver requests must be submitted on the attached Waiver Request form. Waiver requests submitted without the attached form will be returned to the requestor without action. The Field Office manager or their designated acting must send the form to the BLM Collections and Billings Branch (BC621). The Collections and Billings Branch email address and fax number are shown on the “Request for Bill Waiver or Cancellation” form.

Effective Date: This policy is effective immediately.

Points of Contact: If you have questions regarding these matters, please contact Esther Velasquez (BLM CBS WaiveLateFee@blm.gov, 303-236-6321), Leon Pack, (lpack@blm.gov, NSTC 170, (303) 236-0156), or Virginia Pherigo (vpherigo@blm.gov, IDSO, (208) 373-4036).

Signed by:
Authenticated by:
Bud Cribley
Robert M. Williams
Acting, Deputy Assistant Director
Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Renewable Resources and Planning

2 Attachments
1 - Request for Late Fee Waiver form (1 p)
2 - Grazing Fee billings and Late Fee Waivers: Issues and Guidance (3 pp)