donna723
Well-Known Member
In the great scheme of things, this is a very minor problem but I just wanted to see what some of you would do if you were me.
As some of you know, I live in a very tiny little town, so tiny that our 'downtown' is only two blocks long and everybody calls the mayor by his first name. I pay a city utility bill for water, sewer, and gas (that I only use in the winter for heat). My bill this month was only $31 which I went in and paid by check at city hall on the 15th. This is one of the only bills I pay by check because they are not set up to accept payments online. I noticed that my check hadn't cleared and when our little weekly paper came out there was a big story about how someone had broken in to city hall! They came in the back, ripped the night depository box right out of the wall and even stole the safe that had been bolted to the floor! Now why they left all that money (cash and checks) from the whole town's utility bills in their safe for several days instead of depositing it in the bank is anybody's guess. They said they did find 30-40 checks on the side of the road going out of town but apparently mine wasn't one of them because it still hasn't cleared and the $31 is still in my checking account.
So ... what would you do? Do towns have insurance that covers them for things like this? I have my receipt that is stamped "PAID" so legally they probably couldn't make me pay it again. But I almost feel like I am morally obligated to give them another check - I still have the $31. But if they're getting reimbursed from insurance I wouldn't feel quite so obligated. And what if the people who stole my original check figure out some way to cash it? Is there anything they can do with the check if it's made out to the city? I cut it pretty close in my checking account and I don't want anything to bounce if I write them another one and then the original check clears too.
As some of you know, I live in a very tiny little town, so tiny that our 'downtown' is only two blocks long and everybody calls the mayor by his first name. I pay a city utility bill for water, sewer, and gas (that I only use in the winter for heat). My bill this month was only $31 which I went in and paid by check at city hall on the 15th. This is one of the only bills I pay by check because they are not set up to accept payments online. I noticed that my check hadn't cleared and when our little weekly paper came out there was a big story about how someone had broken in to city hall! They came in the back, ripped the night depository box right out of the wall and even stole the safe that had been bolted to the floor! Now why they left all that money (cash and checks) from the whole town's utility bills in their safe for several days instead of depositing it in the bank is anybody's guess. They said they did find 30-40 checks on the side of the road going out of town but apparently mine wasn't one of them because it still hasn't cleared and the $31 is still in my checking account.
So ... what would you do? Do towns have insurance that covers them for things like this? I have my receipt that is stamped "PAID" so legally they probably couldn't make me pay it again. But I almost feel like I am morally obligated to give them another check - I still have the $31. But if they're getting reimbursed from insurance I wouldn't feel quite so obligated. And what if the people who stole my original check figure out some way to cash it? Is there anything they can do with the check if it's made out to the city? I cut it pretty close in my checking account and I don't want anything to bounce if I write them another one and then the original check clears too.