SANTEE
The Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board of Directors, which last week reinstated late fees and water shutoffs, plans to put tax liens on 73 delinquent accounts.
The item is on the consent calendar of the board’s meeting on Wednesday.
The district, which had given customers a grace period during the pandemic, said it is owed more than $280,000.
“This is a normal practice for us and we are obligated to collect fees for services in order for us to stay in compliance with state law,” said General Manager and CEO Allen Carlisle. “We can’t have one ratepayer group subsidize another.”
SANTEE
Padre Dam Municipal Water District customers who have not paid their bills will be charged late fees beginning Aug. 1 and risk losing water service starting Oct. 1.
The district that serves Santee, Alpine, Crest and other areas in East County temporarily suspended late fees and water shutoffs for non-payment in spring 2020 to help customers having financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, Padre Dam’s Board of Directors voted 4-1 to reinstate both. The annual financial impact of the delinquent payments is more than $1 million, the directors were told.
“We understand there is never a good time to reintroduce late fees and water shutoffs,” said Padre Dam General Manager Allen Carlisle. “However, we have an obligation to follow the law and protect the financial security of the community’s water system.”
Twelve percent of the state s population [owe] this $1 billion of utility debt, said Glenn Farrel, director of government relations at the San Diego County Water Authority. That s a lot of people living at the edge.
Farrel estimates that there is $50 million of water bill debt locally due to COVID-19. Numbers reported to the state by water districts in San Diego show almost 70,000 accounts were delinquent as of October 2020. We have a major problem, said Farrel.
There are 24 members of the SDCWA, including the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which serves a large portion of East County, from Alpine to El Cajon. Carlisle said only 0.5% of water bills are delinquent typically, but during the pandemic, that figure has risen to 3.4%.