Lorain weighs changes to delinquent water charges

During a streets and utilities committee meeting Monday night, Lorain officials debated changes to how the city enforces late water utility payments, including what residents are forced to pay if their water service is shut off. One ordinance discussed Monday focuses on properties that had liens placed on them for delinquent water payments and where the utility has been shut off. A proposed ordinance would require at least 50 percent of the lien be paid before water service was restored. Payments would go through the Lorain County Auditor's office and then be transferred to the city's utilities department. Joe Carbonaro, city director of utilities, said the 50 percent minimum payment is a new idea the city could use against habitual late payers. Over time, thousands of delinquent accounts throughout Lorain have accumulated a deficit about $2 million. The city has about 26,000 in-city rate payers and 800 outside rate payers, who pay a higher usage rate than in-city residents, according to Chronicle archives. Of those accounts, about 3,400 are delinquent. Although the city may be facing a budget deficit, some City Council members spoke of their concerns of the financial hardship to residents. "We have a lot of residents in this community that feel that they are constantly being taxed and levied and fee-d and everything else to support people that are not willing to take care of themselves," said Council member Mary Springowski, D-at Large. City officials also noted that delinquent accounts throughout Lorain may be tied to landlords who are not paying their water bills — leaving tenants with the possibility of having their water shut off. "I think it is imperative that we find out these landlords and how many properties they actually own and which ones are the repeat offenders," said Council member Pamela Carter, D-Ward 3. "If (the landlord is) not paying his water bills, taking care of his responsibility, something needs to happen." The ordinance discussed Monday night was advanced by the streets and utilities committee and will be weighed by Council in its entirety. Lorain officials also discussed a potential ordinance that, if approved, would correct city documents to accurately reflect the cost of what the city charges to turn on water utilities. "What we found in going through these ordinances is that there is a lot of discrepancies," Carbonaro said. "Amounts have been changed in certain areas and they haven't been changed in other areas. So what we're doing is making sure all those amounts are equating each other and that the language is accurate." The current charge for reconnecting water service, according to the ordinance, is $50 during regular hours and $100 after regular hours. Half of the collected funds go toward the city's water works funds and the other goes toward the water pollution control funds. The discrepancy Carbonaro referred to was that the ordinance as it currently stands lists the standard reconnection charge at $25 — an amount the city has not been following for years due to other legislation, he said. During discussion, Carter advocated for the city to consider lowering the connection fee in order to help residents who come from lower-income backgrounds. Multiple scenarios focused on how residents may be impacted by the reconnection fee were presented to officials with Lorain's utilities department. When responding to Council members' scenarios and questions, utilities department officials clarified that reconnection orders must be placed by 2 p.m. on weekdays, services cannot be reconnected until delinquencies are solved and that residents are able to go on repayment plans twice in a period of 12 months. The ordinance regarding water turn on fees was advanced out of committee Monday night and will be taken up by Council. Prior to advancing the ordinances onward, the streets and utilities committee asked for clarification on how many residents would be impacted — including residents who rent — what percentage of lien payment other municipalities have placed before water can be turned back on, statistics on water turn-ons and what revenue has been produced for the city through that service. Contact Garrett Looker at glooker@chroniclet.com.