For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting [May 11, 2021]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Sean Grayson, Acting City Manager
FROM: Thomas J. Crowley, P.E., Utilities Manager
Title
Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board to Set a Public Hearing for June 8, 2021, 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, the 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 the 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
During the spring of each year, staff develops a list of properties to be levied for delinquent sewer fees. Once the list of properties to be levied has been completed, the list will be compared with the most recent County property ownership data. Changes will be incorporated into the final list which is then submitted to the County. This list is comprised of accounts where the account owner, who is delinquent on sewer payments, is the same as the ...
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