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RELEVANT LINKS: League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 6/22/2016 Securing Payment of Utility Charges Page 35 Federal Trade Commission: Fighting Identity Theft with the Red Flags Rule: A How- To Guide for Business. To decide if this rule applies to your city, examine the municipal utility practices and procedures in consultation with the city attorney. The FTC provides extensive information on understanding and complying with the rule. MMUA Model Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Program. If it applies to your city utility operation, the final rules require that each creditor develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program (Program) for combating identity theft in connection with new and existing accounts. The Program must include reasonable policies and procedures for detecting, preventing, and mitigating identity theft and enable a creditor to: • Identify relevant patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity that are “red flags” signaling possible identity theft, and incorporate those red flags into the Program. • Detect red flags that have been incorporated into the Program. • Respond appropriately to any red flags that are detected to prevent and mitigate identity theft. • Ensure the Program is updated periodically to reflect changes in risks from identity theft. It is still not entirely clear whether this federal rule applies to all municipal utilities in Minnesota. Given that uncertainty about the application of this rule to city operations, review this issue with the city attorney. XIV. Emergencies Minn. Stat. § 471.59. MnWARN. City water and wastewater systems provide essential services. In a disaster or emergency, the Minnesota Water/Wastewater Utilities Agency Response Network (MnWARN) offers an immediate response through mutual assistance for water, wastewater, and storm water utilities in the state. A mutual aid agreement provides the basis for emergency assistance so water, wastewater, and storm water utilities sustaining physical damage may obtain emergency assistance in the form of personnel, equipment, materials, and other associated services. As explained on its website, there is no fee to join MnWARN, but the city council must adopt the MnWARN mutual aid agreement and resolution and meet other criteria to participate. XV. Bankruptcy proceedings 11 U.S.C.A. § 362(a). Bankruptcy is a complex legal process and beyond the scope of this memo. What follows are a few very basic principles as they may apply to utility charges.