 The numbers are 31 and 41, and the bottom line is that within
41 days, you may very well be living in a home with no running
water. Thursday afternoon, three city officials sat down to
explain what is about to happen to those who have neglected to honor
their obligations to the city. Participating were an alderman, Buzz
Busby; Chuck Conzo, city treasurer; and Susan Gehlbach, city clerk.
Starting today (Monday) the city clerk's office will send out
registered letters to 10 accounts per week, advising them that they
have 30 days to pay up on their delinquent sewer bill.
In the case of rental property, the letters will go to the
landlords and also to the physical address where the debt is owed to
the city.
According to city ordinance, the landlord as well as the tenant
or occupant of the home is liable for the bill, and it is the
responsibility of the occupant to find out if their landlord is
honoring his or her obligations.
On day 31, accounts that have not been settled will be given over
to Illinois American Water Co., which will also issue a letter, this
time giving the owner or occupant 10 days to settle their account
with the city. This will be the final notice to the delinquent
parties.
On day 41, Illinois American will start visiting addresses and
turning off water service.
According to the contract signed between the city and the water
company, the water company has a total of 20 days to do the
shut-off, but Conzo said Thursday he expects they will act quickly
once their 10-day notice has expired.
When the water is turned off, the water company will send a bill
to the city for $65 per address, plus a $10 administration
fee. These amounts will be added to the total due on the delinquent
account.
In addition, the city will be billed by the water company for the
gross revenues they lose during the period the water is turned
off. This too will be added to the delinquent sewer bill.
Before water service can be restored, the full amount due,
including the new charges from the water company, will have to be
paid.
Once the water is off, Busby said he hopes to get John Lebegue of
the city's building and safety office and the Logan County
Department of Public Health involved in condemning the homes and
forcing the occupants to vacate.
This all may seem a bit harsh on the part of the city, but the
fact is, the city has been working for years to nicely find a way to
collect delinquent sewer bills, and for the most part none of their
efforts have worked.
But with each passing year, the problem is becoming larger and
larger, as many homeowners and landlords have come to realize the
city's efforts have been little more than empty threats.
In 2002, when Juanita Josserand was city clerk, she reported to
the council that the sewer department was $37,000 in the hole on
delinquent sewer bills. In 2003 that number jumped to $56,000, and
the issue came up again in 2005 when Busby reported to the council
that the delinquent account number was growing.
In the fall of 2009 Busby began an aggressive campaign in the
city council to attempt to do something about the delinquent
accounts. In August of that year, he reported the delinquent
accounts exceeded $90,000.
As of last week, Busby said the figure has now grown to over
$360,000.
According to state law, the sewer department has to be a
self-sufficient entity within the city. When the city looks at the
annual budgets each year, the sewer department does run in the
black. However, these uncollected debts mean there is a stifling of
the cash flow in the department, making it more difficult for the
department to do sewer work.
Because of this, the need to do something to collect the accounts
is becoming more important with each passing month.
The program to use Illinois American Water and a shut-off process
was first introduced by Busby in April of 2011, when the total
delinquent accounts hit a total of just over $250,000.
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However, aldermen were reluctant to do anything because they felt
a concern for tenants who occupied the homes with no control over
the sewer bills, and the motion from Busby to implement the program
fell by the wayside.
Aldermen did discuss other means of collection, and later that
year they agreed to use a collection agency for some of the
accounts. However, that process has not moved along quickly enough,
and the city thus far has seen no results from the efforts.
In July of 2011 Alderwoman Marty Neitzel brought the idea of the
water shut-offs back to the council, and this time, they agreed it
was something they needed to investigate further.
Conzo had done research with Denise Martinek, who was city clerk
then, and the two had found the city of Belleville was using water
shut-offs for collection of delinquent sewer accounts, and their
results had been remarkable, with nearly all their accounts
collected and current.
Thursday afternoon Busby said he had every reason to believe the
method would be effective in Lincoln as well, and Conzo agreed.
However, even the best plans aren't without their problems. Busby
has been doing drive-bys at some of the addresses that will make up
the first 10 shut-offs, and Gehlbach has been working with Illinois
American on the list. What they are finding out is that in several
cases, those who owe sewer bills also owe on water and are already
shut off.
Busby recounted that last week he drove by a residence and
personally witnessed a garden hose running from one house into
another, a pretty obvious sign that one of the two houses has no
true running water.
When asked what they would do about those, Conzo said a few of
them might go to collections, but more than likely the majority will
go directly to city attorney Bill Bates so that he can pursue legal
action.
However, these are properties that already have liens placed
against them by the city, and the odds of collecting any funds any
time soon are pretty slim.
On the positive side, what the city is hoping for is that the
cascading effect of losing service, having homes condemned and
occupants evicted will wake up a few folks and make them realize
they have more to lose than gain by ignoring their obligations.
Gehlbach also said it needed to be made clear this is not a
program for the person who is running a few days behind on paying
their sewer. All of the addresses being turned over are on accounts
that are months behind and have already had liens filed against the
properties for the delinquent account.
Conzo said another point that needed to be made very clear is
that the city does hold occupants liable as well as landlords. He
said there are cases when as many as three parties could be
involved. If it is a rental property rented in one person's name
with another person actually living on the property, then three are
involved -- the landlord, the renter and the occupant -- and all
three are liable.
The renter or occupant has the responsibility to find out if
their sewer bill is paid. First they should ask their landlord, but
if they are not satisfied with the answer, they may also contact the
city.
Gehlbach said anyone can call 732-2144 or 735-2815 and talk to
someone in the clerk's office. The only information they will need
is the physical address of the property.
[By NILA SMITH]
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