For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting [September 13, 2022]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Marcus Fuller, City Manager
FROM: Thomas J. Crowley, P.E., Utilities Manager
Title
Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board to End the Moratorium on Water Disconnections and Late Penalties for Water and Wastewater Accounts that are in the Arrears in Accordance with SB 998 Requirements Effective January 1, 2023.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND
On March 12, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution 7600 declaring a local emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the action, staff indicated that the item would be brought back to the City Council for updates at each City Council meeting for the duration of the local emergency. The City Council received an update on and approved continuation of the local emergency at each City Council meeting since the adoption of the Resolution.
Since the City's declaration of a local emergency and actions on March 16, 2020, there have been significant directives from the State of California and the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. All orders were resolved on June 15, 2021, as the State of California began a process to roll back all Emergency Orders and effectively reopened the state to all sectors without COVID-19 restrictions for those persons that are fully vaccinated. There have been significant changes in the impact of COVID-19 on the community since State's rollback of specific COVID-19 protections.
One of the State's orders implemented a moratorium on water shut offs that extended through December 31, 2021.
In June of 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in ongoing efforts to ensure continued access to essential utility services during the COVID-19 pandemic, suspended disconnections of residential and small business customers through September 30, 2021. This provided time for energy utilities to notify customers of a new CPUC solution to re...
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