VIPA – If you need an additional $5 million and are not willing to use the $7.1 million unexpected Net Profit to cover that, perhaps you need to actively collect from your customers who owe you money, instead of raising the daily cost of survival for all St John residents. Please follow up on the questions you raised at the last board meeting concerning the extremely high Accounts Receivable (over $11 million), with 40% of those VIPA customer accounts more than 3 months delinquent.
At the September meeting, Board Chair Willard John asked if there was someone specifically assigned to collect money owed. “The accounts receivable analysts in accounting, they deal with the operational side, and property management deals with the rental side,” responded Penn. Board member Derek Gabriel inquired if there is a formal procedure established for collections. “We have a process on the property side. Where we’re lagging is on the operational side,” said Penn. “A lot of people have been responding, telling us whether they have paid or not. Some people didn’t even know that they owed and some of the notices go out to other individuals in the organization,” said Penn.
To help you out, here is a list of the largest amounts owed (as of June 30, 2025), totalling more than $6 million. Please collect the money owed to you by your customers before taking it out of St John residents’ pockets. I will be happy to discuss this further in person at the St Croix meeting this Wednesday.
Thank you, Pam Gaffin
—Pam Gaffin is a longtime St. John resident.
