For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting June 24, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Tanya Williams, City Manager
FROM: John Rossi, Interim Utilities Director
Nicole Hemmans, Senior Administrative Analyst
Title
Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board to Set a Public Hearing for July 22, 2025, to Receive Public Comment Related to the Placement of Sewer Service Charges on the County Property Tax Roll for Delinquent Accounts.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board set a Public Hearing for July 22, 2025, to receive public comment related to the placement of charges on the County Property Tax Roll for delinquent sewer payments.
BACKGROUND
The City of Rialto (City), through the Rialto Utility Authority (RUA), is responsible for providing sewer services to all properties within the City limits and parts of Bloomington. In areas where RUA also supplies water, customers receive a combined bill for both water and sewer services. Under Rialto Municipal Code Section 12.08, the RUA is authorized to encourage timely payment through penalties and, when necessary, water service shutoffs. However, not all properties in Rialto receive water from RUA. In some parts of the City, water is instead provided by the West Valley Water District or the Fontana Water Company. For those customers, RUA bills only for sewer services. Because the RUA does not control the water supply in these cases, it lacks the ability to enforce payment through service disconnections. As a result, these "sewer-only" accounts tend to show higher rates of delinquency.
To address this issue, the City amended Rialto Municipal Code Section 12.08.201, authorizing the placement of past-due sewer charges on the County property tax rolls. This amendment, enacted by Ordinance on June 19, 2007, mirrors the approach used for recovering unpaid solid waste service fees and provides an effective tool to ensure the collect...
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