The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
City asks for patience on water, sewer rates
Lorain city leaders asked residents for patience as they look for ways to cut down the high water and sewer bills that have customers pleading for help.
Utility issues dominated public discussion at a Feb. 17 meeting of Lorain City Council.
The city governing board voted 11-0 to settle a longstanding legal dispute over sewer bills of customers in Elyria Township and Sheffield Township.
In that agreement, the Lorain County commissioners will pay the city $1.5 million in fees. Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley said that money could help provide relief for high water bills.
Meanwhile, discussion will take place in committee as council considers legislation that would extend a threemonth rate freeze on sewers for the rest of 2020.
“We do not accept intimidation, demands, OK.”
— Lorain City Council President Joel Arredondo
Some residents demanded action immediately.
Attorney Gerald Phillips called for a roll call vote on a cease and desist order barring water shutoffs through June 30. Without it, Phillips said residents “would commence with World War III,” with recall actions to remove Council members from office if they did not support the order.
“If you fail to honor this order immediately, no ifs, ands, or buts, yes or no, no excuses, no talk the talk, we demand action,” Phillips said, adding a slang word for manure.
Amherst Township and sewer customer Tia Hilton, a vocal critic of the utility issues, pressed Law Director Pat Riley for allegedly ignoring her questions, but Riley countered with a description of his actions to respond.
Bradley promised notices are coming to inform residents about their right to appeal shut-off notices if they are facing financial, medical or other hardships. The mayor stopped short of calling it a moratorium on water shut-offs, but said he has directed the Utilities Department to stop
“We don’t need any cease and desist orders, I’m already on this,” Bradley said.
Council President Joel Arredondo said council runs a law and order city and will not tolerate derogatory remarks or inflammatory rhetoric.
“We do not accept intimidation, demands, OK,” he said. “This is the city of Lorain. If you want to go to Washington D.C. and operate that way, fine.”
Resident Shannon Perry said she agreed with Hilton, but not about the approach to council.
She apologized to council and asked Bradley and Councilwoman JoAnn Moon how she can help the situation. Moon suggested Perry bring a copy of the bill to explain what costs are frozen on the water bill.
Not everybody wants to file a lawsuit, Perry said.
“I want to help, I want to be a part of this,” she said.
“And I think that’s where we are losing sight of this because what is happening is, everybody’s fighting.” Perry said she is dissecting her bill now and Bradley said he examines his household utility bill too. Council also heard from residents Tracie Duffield, Stephan Dixson, Garon Petty, Jerry Donovan and Victoria Kempton, creator of the Lorain Citizens for Fair Water and Sewer Bills, a Facebook forum devoted to the issue.
Councilman Rey Carrion noted Bradley and his administration have not yet been in office two months. Carrion said the citizens have the attention of the administration and council.
“There’s a lot of work going on to address this issue and this issue will be addressed,” Carrion said. “It will be addressed. It doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t happen tomorrow. And to come in here and start throwing things left and right, it would be doing a disservice to all of us if we don’t do the proper research, if we don’t examine the data, if we don’t examine the way that we can propose a plan that will be sustainable. To just throw a plan just to make everyone happy is not us doing our job.”
As for extending the sewer rate freeze, council voted 8-3 to send it to committee.
Councilman-at-Large Mitch Fallis was among the dissenters.
The sewer rate freeze will terminate at the end of March, Fallis said. Voting to extend the rate freeze would give people peace of mind and let citizens know where they stand for the next 12 months, he said.