"SNCF pursued payment on this bill after the liberation of Paris," he said, "after the Nazis were gone".
The council said it had not previously pursued payment of about £65,000 in debts as there were small firms relying on a settlement.
"We will only pursue payments," he added, "for which there is no reasonable explanation".
They also rejected suggestions that they had been overly aggressive in pursuing payments, noting that of the 196 collection efforts in the last fiscal year, 53 concluded in payments.
Hunt, responding to the BBC Trust report today that criticised the corporation for being "too harsh" in its pursuit of licence fee payments, said that the BBC had tried to distance itself from the "grubby business" of pursuing payments by using third-party contractors with "stiff targets" instead of treating viewers like customers.
If an invoice is unpaid then the trust will pursue payment via debt collectors.
Patients stayed longer than they needed, and unpaid patient bills stacked up without an aggressive plan to pursue payment.
According to law, they cannot be denied emergency or maternity services, but hospitals are encouraged to pursue payment after care is given.
A Department of Children and Families spokeswoman, Angela de Rocha, said Wednesday that the agency would not be pursuing payment if the state had not provided more than $6,000 in benefits for the child after the Topeka couple split.
"Per article charges allow users to remain promiscuous so would be the best way for the sector to pursue payment from most users, who prefer to mix and match news sources," the report said.
The hospital is less keen on other proposals by Mr. Looney to steer more state money to hospitals that treat indigent patients without charge and less to hospitals that pursue payment.
