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 t...
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