Pay up, or no water

Even water at the mayor’s house can be turned off if the bill isn’t paid properly. That should make citizens of Santa Fe feel good. Even the powerful have to pay. As the mayor said in response to a story last week about issues with the water bill at his property, “the rules apply to everyone.” How citizens feel about a chief executive who loses track of bills, leading to numerous water shutoffs in the first place, is, of course, another matter.

The mayor’s former home (he has moved) is somewhat instructive for all of us who occasionally forget to pay a bill. There are consequences. If you don’t pay, there will be an automatic warning generated and eventually, a two-day notice will be stuck to your gate or door and without proper payment, the water will be turned off.

In February, after all, the City Council wrote off some $2.7 million in unpaid utility bills that were deemed noncollectable — they dated back too many years. However, councilors made it clear that going forward, they want the city to collect what is owed. Remember, the city was battling a shortfall in its operating budget, and writing off millions had to be painful.

Thus, a stepped-up effort to remind water customers of late bills and to shut off deadbeats. Going forward, customers will not be skipping out on millions — and that’s fair not just to the Water Division but also to all customers who pay their bills on time. (One key to ensuring that utility bills are paid is making sure that tenants pay up when they move from one address to another. Property owners, too, should keep in mind that utility accounts revert back to the owner unless lease agreements are properly filed with the Utilities Division. Another reform: Outstanding balances for any person on a lease agreement have to be paid in full before new service can be started; in other words, a renter can’t fail to pay a water bill at an apartment and then open a new account at a house across town.)

That said, employees at the Water Division might want to brainstorm about ways to ensure the notices actually are delivered and seen. Too many customers are surprised to find their water turned off. Perhaps the notice blows away or someone pockets it or the customer simply misses it. They might be out of town when the notice is delivered and come home from vacation to a house with no water.

Could it be possible to give more than two days notice, or to actually require contact before the water is shut off ? In the state of Pennsylvania, for example, utility companies send a 10-day notice and then attempt to contact a customer three days before the shutoff date. After a customer receives a notice, the utility has 60 days to shut off service — and that longer period means people can find a way to pay the bill and avoid reconnect fees and inconvenience.

After all, with Santa Fe’s brisk winds, it is easy to believe that notices are blown away (one idea is to make sturdier notices, perhaps sticky ones that can be placed on a glass screen door or on the porch). Whatever the process, the end goal remains the same — getting water bills paid in full, with enough time for customers to do the right thing before their taps run dry. The city gets its money. The customers get their water. Everyone wins.