* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Council President Young and Councilmember Stokes
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Water Bill Tax Lien Sale Moratorium
FOR the purpose of calling for a moratorium on the inclusion of properties in City tax sales solely based on unpaid water or sewer charges for a period of two years, or until the Department of Public Works and the Department of Finance can demonstrate to the Council that a viable and fair system of billing is in place for the Bureau of Water and Wastewater.
body
Recitals
A February 2012 audit of the Bureau of Water and Wastewater in the Department of Public Works by the Department of Audits highlighted a number of concerns about the City’s water billing system. Many of the issues raised by the audit are troubling, and several of them have the potential to lead to severe consequences for Baltimore residents.
For instance, the audit found that 18,266 properties had been billed solely based on estimates, with no actual meter readings, for an entire year or longer. This number included 2,678 accounts that had been billed based solely on estimates for at least 4 ½ years. The audit further found that customer efforts to correct these and other billing problems by requesting an actual meter reading often resulted in the customer subsequently being over-billed. According to a report generated for the auditors, $31.7 million, or 25%, of the total adj...
Click here for full text