EDITORIAL

Getting tough on utility bills

Posted 9/21/17

Water is essential to life, so it's no wonder people are upset when a city crew shows up and shuts off their water. Gone is the convenience of taking a shower, flushing the toilet, hosing the garden, doing the laundry, filling the kettle from the kitchen

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
EDITORIAL

Getting tough on utility bills

Posted

Water is essential to life, so it’s no wonder people are upset when a city crew shows up and shuts off their water. Gone is the convenience of taking a shower, flushing the toilet, hosing the garden, doing the laundry, filling the kettle from the kitchen faucet, making ice, washing the dishes and cleaning food – not to mention the simple sanitary task of washing one’s hands.

Naturally, there’s the option of bottled water and, if there’s a sympathetic neighbor, running a hose from next door.

So far, since a concerted effort to clear up a backlog of unpaid water and sewer bills totaling more than $6.2 million, the city has shut off the water to about 150 homes this year. It would seem like a drastic and last ditch measure that should be taken when all attempts for payment have failed. But that’s not the case.

A water shutoff is actually a step below a tax sale and a means of bringing a chronic habit of deferring payment to a head before the prolonged process of a tax sale and the potential loss of property.

The backlog of payments jumped to the headlines more than two years ago when the city advertised 2,500 properties for a tax sale. Such a large tax sale raised questions. Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur dug into the details, discovering that the city had allowed people to go two and three years before taking the drastic measure of putting their property up for a tax sale. There was not a process of sending out warnings and threatening shutoffs as the practice of utilities and there wasn’t a plan to deal with hardship cases.

Ladouceur formed a committee and a procedure came together for dealing with delinquencies going forward. Shutoffs, unquestionably, was the most controversial of the measures endorsed. The administration picked up on the recommendations and, while debatably they took too long to implement, they are here and working.

As of earlier this month when the city sent out letters to 1,200 property owners of a December 1 tax sale, utility delinquencies totaled $2.6 million. Of that amount, $1.6 million was earmarked for the tax sale. By the time Dec. 1 arrives, the balance will be substantially less.

Reversing the laissez faire, almost nonchalant practice of the past does not come easily to those who were accustomed to being told with partial payment and no rigid payment plan they would be okay. But let’s also recognize this was unfair to those who did pay their bills on time. They were footing the bill to keep the water flowing and maintaining sewer operations.

The bill needs to get paid and those provided the service need to pay them.

Comments

3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • davebarry109

    They laggards better be paying late fees/interest as well.

    Thursday, September 21, 2017 Report this

  • Kammy

    I wonder what it is like to just not pay your bills? Do you sleep at night? Do you reach out for assistance or just pretend it doesn't exist and hope it goes away? Do you ever think about all those other people that struggle to pay their bills while doing without? I am upset that it took so long for Warwick to do something about collecting because it is kind of a kick in the teeth for those of us that have paid on time. We have gone without vacations, new cars or phones, non-essential items just to make sure we meet our obligations. Hard to believe there are so many in Warwick that just said, screw it. A big thank you to Ed Ladouceur for pushing this forward and changing things.

    Thursday, September 21, 2017 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Let's not forget who "dug into the details". It was Councilman Ed Ladoucuer. He cared more about the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab. Before he arrived on the scene, there were over a thousand people who were over a thousand dollars behind on their water bills. During my 2016 campaign for Mayor I received that list and it included many who had donated to Mayor Avedisian's campaign. Today, that number is greatly reduced thanks to Ed's leadership. He recognized how unfair it was to those who paid on time. His efforts have collected millions in back payments making it possible for the rest of us to pay LESS.

    Well done Councilman Ladouceur.

    Happy Autumn Ed.

    Happy Autumn everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers mayor

    Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Report this