The city Identity Theft Prevention Procedures are as follows:
(A) Rental program. Any resident moving into a rental property currently must sign an occupancy permit, list all names of residents moving into the home and provide a valid driver’s license upon the $50 deposit being paid before the water is turned on in his or her name.
(B) New home purchase. The city does not currently require that any identification be presented in order to put an account into the new home owner’s name. The city feels it would be in the best interest of the city as well as the resident to require the same type of identification for home ownership as the city requires for rental. (This is a procedure the city feels can be easily changed for the safety of all involved).
(1) When the city receives back a refund check from a final billing, the city does not proceed with trying to find the prior resident. The city feels that it is the prior resident’s responsibility to get in touch with the city to receive his or her refund. If the refund check is not requested within a 12-month period, the Auditor places this check on a list to be removed from the payables and re-deposited into the payable fund.
(2) When a final bill is received back into the city’s office due to (undeliverable, no forwarding address and the like), the city will try to find a correct forwarding. If this is not possible for the city to find, the city will set this account as a delinquent. If the customer tries to move back into the city and open a new account, his or her name will come up as delinquent and the city will not provide new service until the prior is financially taken care of. The city’s procedure to pay closer attention to the numerous name changes residents present to open/close accounts has improved with our new software program as well as the rental program identification requirement to open a new account.
(3) The removal of a name on an account due to divorce, death and the like. When a resident calls to remove his or her name from an account due to the above stated, the safest procedure that the city does not currently follow would be the requirement of a document to change or delete the current name on an account. When a divorce situation has happened, one spouse may call to take his or her name off of the account in order to forward the responsibility of usage to the other. Without a document showing that the home is the responsibility of (one or the other), the city cannot confirm this to be the correct information.
(C) Password. A password should be changed once every year for entry into the utility, cash receipting, accounts payable and general ledger software. A scheduled time will be set to change in a timely manner to provide a safer work zone for those permitted into each program.
(1) The server and the anti-virus programs that are currently in place provide the needed safety measures to eliminate a breach into the software installed throughout the city offices. A daily backup takes place at a scheduled time seven days a week.
(2) The safe procedures the employees of the city follow to help prevent identity theft can be improved upon in many ways with an ordinance and guidelines in place.
(Ord. 2010-15, passed 9-7-2010)