Water bill collections plummet without threat of shut-offs

Days before taking office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared water a “basic human right” and ended water shut-offs that had cut off a “lifeline” to low-income families struggling to pay skyrocketing water bills.

Chicago appears to be paying a heavy price for that kinder, gentler approach.

Since Lightfoot ended the ultimate weapon against water scofflaws, monthly water bill collections dropped by $20 million — from $74.7 million in October to $54.6 million in November and $55.5 million in December. January collections were $61.8 million.

An even bigger red flag is February. Through Feb. 17, water bill collections were $13.8 million, according to records released to the Chicago Sun-Times in response to a Freedom of Information request.

City Comptroller Reshma Soni said she’s not concerned about February, noting: “A lot of the bills we have are due at the end of the month” and take a few days to process.

The city anticipated and “planned accordingly” for a “slight decrease” in water collections tied to water conservation, increased meter use and the decision to stop shutting off water service, she said. A similar seasonal drop in water use occurred last fall, she said.

Civic Federation President Laurence Msall warned the decline could spell trouble for the largest of four city employee pensions.

Four years ago, the City Council slapped a 29.5% surcharge on water and sewer bills to save the Municipal Employees Pension Fund. The surcharge is applied to water bill collections.

“It’s clear that these one-off funding mechanisms — whether it’s water, 911 fees or even property taxes — are not sufficient to keep these funds in a safe place financially,” Msall said Tuesday.

Jeff Johnson, a trustee of the Municipal Employees Pension Fund, isn’t overly concerned about the drop in water collections.

“The statute requires that we get our $421 million this year no matter what. The funding source doesn’t matter to us,” Johnson said.