For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting [June 9, 2020]
TO: Honorable City Council
APPROVAL: Rod Foster, City Manager
FROM: Thomas J. Crowley, P.E., Utilities Manager
Title
Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority to Set a Public Hearing for July 14, 2020, to Receive Public Comment Related to the Placement of Sewer Service Charges on the County Property Tax Roll for Delinquent Accounts.
Body
BACKGROUND
The City of Rialto (City)/Rialto Utility Authority (RUA) provides sewer services throughout the entire City and areas of Bloomington. Where RUA provides water service, both water and sewer services are billed together. For delinquent accounts, RUA is able to impose penalties and shut off water services to promote payment, per Rialto Municipal Code Section 12.08. However, there are areas of the City where either the West Valley Water District or the Fontana Water Company provides water services and RUA only bills for sewer service. The sewer-only accounts have high delinquency rates, as the RUA cannot disconnect services for lack of payment.
In order to more effectively collect sewer-only accounts, the Rialto Municipal Code Section 12.08.201 was amended to allow for placement of delinquent charges on property tax bills through the County Tax Collector’s Office. The Ordinance approved on June 19, 2007 provides a method for collecting delinquent accounts similar to the lien placement process used for solid waste delinquent accounts.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
To meet the County submittal deadline of August 10, 2020, several things must occur, most notably, a list must be presented to the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority of properties meeting the criteria for placement of liens with the County and a public hearing must be held to approve the levy. Notification letters were sent to the delinquent account holders alerting them of RUA’s plan to place the delinquent charges on the property tax roll and giving them one last opportunity to pay. The last date for a customer to pay their delinquent sewer bill before placement on the tax rolls is June 26, 2020. A copy of the letter is included as Attachment 1. A copy of the Notice of Public Hearing is included as Attachment 2 and a list of the delinquent properties is attached as Attachment 3. Willdan Financial Services provides and compares the most recent County property ownership data with RUA’s account data and subsequently submits the charges to the County on behalf of the City/RUA.
This item was presented to the Water Subcommittee on April 29, 2020, who recommended presenting it to the full City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board for a Public Hearing. An update on the item was provided to the Water Subcommittee on May 28, 2020. It should be noted that this item would have been scheduled for the May 19, 2020, meeting of Utilities Commission (UC); however, the UC meeting was canceled in compliance with COVID-19/Coronavirus social distancing guidelines as described in Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-33-20.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
This request is not a Project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Pursuant to Section 15378 (b)( 5) a project does not include organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This action is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney/Rialto Utility Authority Attorney has reviewed and approved the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
The levy is comprised of accounts where the account owner is the same as the current property owner per the County secured tax roll. The potential total levy amount is $1,084,745 and there are 1,635 delinquent accounts as of May 20, 2020. The County of San Bernardino charges $0.30 per parcel for the use of their services and this amount will be added to the levy and collected by the County of San Bernardino.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing
A business license is not required for the requested action.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority set the Public Hearing for July 14, 2020 to receive public comment related to the placement of charges on the County Property Tax Roll for delinquent sewer payments.