They are going to fin d a means to collect the nearly
one-quarter-million dollars in delinquent balances, even if it means
digging up the sewers, having water shut off and homes condemned, or
sending people to jail.
The topic was brought up by Alderman Buzz Busby, who has been
holding on to a contract with Illinois American Water for a shut-off
program.
Busby introduced the contract to the council several months ago,
but there were problems with a section of the agreement that
basically held the water company completely harmless in any
liability lawsuits that might come from their actions.
The clause was troubling to city attorney Bill Bates and also to
several of the alderman. At that time, Busby was asked, along with
Mayor Keith Snyder and Bates, to go back to the company and try to
get the clause rewritten to shift the liability burden.
Illinois American did rewrite the clause, but according to Bates
the change in language didn't really answer any of his concerns. The
city would still be held liable, and Snyder said the city's
insurance will not cover what is considered to be contractual
liability.
Nonetheless, Busby asked the council to consider the contract and
take a chance it would be all right.
Currently the city is owed $233,000 in past-due accounts, some of
them with individual balances as high as $3,000 or more, and one
person in particular, Busby said, owes the city in excess of
$12,000.
If the city enters into this contract, they will authorize
Illinois American to do water shut-offs at specific locations where
the bills have gone unpaid.
With no running water, the sewer won't be usable. Under those
circumstances the next step would be for the Logan County Department
of Public Health to come to the home, condemn it and force the
occupant to vacate, at least until such a time as services were
restored.
Busby spoke specifically about the person with the $12,000
balance, saying he was a property owner with several rental
properties in town.
This spurred a conversation about concern for renters, which
Snyder said was part of the problem with this method of collection.
Tenants will suffer due to the property owner being irresponsible.
Alderwoman Joni Tibbs said this was the part of the program that
bothered her the most. She stressed that these tenants may be doing
their part, paying their monthly rents, and may be unaware their
landlord is not paying the sewer bill.
In the city of Lincoln, landlords pay the sewer, but in most
cases the tenant will pay the water bill. It was discussed that
Illinois American will have the ability to send notices to the
tenants, as they will have that information, but the city doesn't.
Alderwoman Stacy Bacon was the only one present who came out and
said she would not vote in favor of a contract with Illinois
American. She said the risk was too high, as it could take only one
lawsuit to far exceed the quarter-million currently on the books.
Busby also asked about dealing with these through small claims.
Bates said yes, small claims and legal prosecution were certainly
options. He stressed, though, that in this economy it is getting
harder and harder to collect money in small claims.
He said many of the people the city is dealing with will be
unemployed or low-income, and they won't have the ability to pay.
But he also noted later in the conversation that when faced with
paying the bill or going to jail, many will come up with the money
to pay the bill, so legal action is a possibility.
It was also brought up that perhaps the city could use collection
agencies. Bates said he knew the city did use a collection agency
for this purpose back in the '80s.
Alderman Jeff Hoinacki suggested the city look into the
collection agencies. He wondered if the city needed to take bids on
a possible contract but was told that wouldn't be necessary. The
city can contact three or four agencies and get quotes on what
percentage of the collection they take as a fee, and that would
sufficient for making a decision.
Bates said a collection agency would attempt to collect through
personal contacts, and if they were unsuccessful, they would also
move on to small claims or other court processes.
One option agencies use quite often is court-appointed wage
assignments. Bates said the requirement for garnishing wages today
comes down to the person making at least $9 per hour and not paying
child support.
If the sewer customer meets that criterion, then wages can be
garnished for what the law regards as excess income.
Bates said the problem the city has right now is that the actions
they take against delinquent accounts really have no consequences
for the owner of the property.
When accounts fall into delinquency, the city files a lien
against the real property. Bates said that because a lot of these
properties come up for sale as a result of foreclosure or
bankruptcy, and because the city is not a primary lien holder in
those cases, there is never any money collected.
The only time a lien is effective is if a homeowner sells the
property. Then the bill has to be paid and the lien removed before
the sale can be completed. Bates said if homeowners know they aren't
going to sell, then they don't care about the lien.
[to top of second column] |
Waste treatment manager Bob Tackett said what he saw in the city
was an epidemic of people not paying. He noted in one part of town
the total dollar figure for delinquent accounts is more than double
other parts and comes to approximately $75,000.
He blames this on neighbors telling neighbors that they don't pay
and the city does nothing about it.
Tackett said the real problem is there are people who do pay, and
they are covering the cost of the sewer infrastructure for everyone,
including those who do not. At the same time, because there are so
many unpaid balances, his ability to maintain the infrastructure has
been diminished.
Alderman David Armbrust made a suggestion that the city do it
"the old-fashioned way."
He said, "Dig that sucker up and put a notice in the front yard:
Sewer shut off for lack of payment, $3,800. I don't think there is
anything illegal about that.
"We've been dancing around this and beating our brains out for
quite a while," he continued. "I realize it costs money to dig those
up, but there has to be some of these that are one dwelling (homes)
that comes to several thousand dollars."
Armbrust also noted putting a sign up was key on his idea. He
said the city had tried publishing the list in local papers and it
didn't do any good, so maybe the notice needed to be in larger
print.
Snyder asked Tackett what would be involved in shutting off a
sewer line, and Tackett responded: "A lot of digging."
Tackett went on to talk about door hangers that were used several
years ago. He said the hangers said something to the effect: "You
have so many days to pay your sewer bill, or we're going to dig it
up and shut it off."
He continued by saying: "We talk about this at work all the time.
The staff knows this is a big issue, and they are willing to do
that. They want to start parking a backhoe in people's front yards
and saying, ‘Hey, pay your bill.'"
Tackett also said he was looking for technology that would allow
a sewer to be easily plugged. He noted the city uses snaking cameras
to view problems in the line, and there should be something similar
that could be done where a plug could be snaked into the line,
effectively shutting off the sewer until the bill was paid.
Alderwoman Melody Anderson said the door hangers were a really
good idea and she'd like to see that happen.
Chuck Conzo, city treasurer, also weighed in, saying the city
might want to consider a security deposit for new accounts in the
future.
Security deposits are not an uncommon practice. Generally a
deposit has to be paid when a home switches ownership. The deposit
is held, and at some point in time as determined by the city,
returned to the owner, providing they are making their sewer
payments in a timely fashion during that time period.
Conzo said this wouldn't solve the current problem, of course,
but it might help offset future losses of payments.
As the discussion came to an end, Bates said the city has to do
something, and they need to be aggressive, whether it be shuts-offs
or collections or whatever. When people realize the city is getting
serious, it will produce results. He ended by saying, "Just pick one
and do it."
Snyder then commented that perhaps the city needs to have
"several tools in the toolbox" -- in other words, more than one
course of action.
The final decision was that the city will contact three
collection agencies and ask them for quotes, and the contract for
water shut-off between the city and Illinois American is on next
Monday night's agenda.
If passed, property owners and perhaps their renters can expect
to receive written notices via the water company giving them so many
days to pay their sewer bill, or else.
And the "or else" is: Or else, your water will be shut off, your
home will be condemned by the health department, and you will be
without a roof over your head until you pay your bill.
[By NILA SMITH]
 |
