An Akron councilman wants to give renters a discount on sewer bills, which landlords collect through rent and must pay if their tenants don’t. But Mayor Dan Horrigan has soundly rejected the idea as an unregulated way for landlords, including the councilman pushing it, to profit.
In neighborhoods where most households earn $20,000 or less — West Hill, Summit Lake, Sherbondy Hill and Cascade Valley — 58 to 72 percent of residents rent, as opposed to 41 percent in the rest of the city.
Extending relief to renters would appear to shift resources to the neediest residents. But doing so would cost other sewer customers $4 million, according to an administrator estimate.
Ward 4 Councilman Russ Neal, a real estate agent who rents out property, said his discount proposal isn’t about helping landlords. An initial version of his plan could have been interpreted that way, he said, but a second draft ensures that tenants benefit.
But the city isn’t listening anymore. On Thursday, Public Service Director John Moore sent Neal a letter that reiterated everything Horrigan has done to reduce the overall cost of the $1.4 billion sewer project and alleviate the burden for customers, whose average rate has increased 70 percent. Neal’s plan for renters, Moore said, wouldn’t stop landlords from pocketing the savings.
The renters’ plan
Income-eligible homeowners currently pay half of sewer rate increases through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). The program borrows standards from a similar state program but is funded by local sewer bills. For 100 cubic feet of waste, sewer customers with the HEAP discount paid $6.85, or 36 percent less. In March, 612 homeowners enrolled in the program, which reduced sewer bills by $124,214.35 last year.
Neal’s plan would make renters eligible, too.
“The City does not support the extension of HEAP benefits to landlords and does not believe that additional discussion of this issue will be fruitful,” Moore wrote in the letter to Neal.
“Additionally, we do not believe that continued weekly discussion on these proposals is a productive use of our or Council’s time,” said Moore, ending the correspondence by thanking Neal “for your understanding and for respecting our position.”
“Who are they to say what is a productive use of our time?” Councilman Bruce Kilby asked Monday in a public utilities committee discussion of the letter and the HEAP extension proposal.
Neal, who chairs the committee, had asked administrators to participate. None did. Deputy Finance Director Steve Fricker and Marco Sommerville, a former council president and now senior adviser to the mayor, sat quietly as Neal and Kilby criticized the letter and alleged that the city is withholding information necessary to do their jobs.
“If council can’t use its talents,” Neal said of being told his ideas are unproductive and his time not well-spent, “then the city could save a whole lot of money by getting rid of council.”
“We keep going upstairs and answering the same questions or we get a new question that we don’t have an answer to,” Moore said of Neal’s routine summons and questioning.
“We never get a specific list of questions,” Moore said.
“We just keep going up there week after week. It’s a circular thing. It’s not productive at all. If he wants to do some research and present a plan to us, OK. If he’s got a great idea, we want it. But the ideas are kind of nebulous.”
Neal can produce a series of emails that include detailed questions repeatedly asked of administrators who may or may not have the answers. Colleagues on council have asked him to detail and share these questions before meetings.
“Maybe he’s not focused enough on who he wants to come [to council meetings] and what information he needs,” Kilby said. “But it seems like the administration is dragging its feet and not being as helpful as it can [be].”
Late fees also issue
The HEAP proposal isn’t the only high-pressure issue before council.
Neal and others question whether a 10 percent late fee on delinquent utility accounts actually encourages on-time payments.
“Once the late fee is administered, a large number of customers usually contact the City to bring their bill up to date,” said Annie McFadden, deputy chief of staff for the mayor. “And it deters them from repeating the mistake.”
Spreadsheets tracking sewer, water and trash bills show an outstanding balance of $8.94 million, more than what the city bills each cycle. Half the late balance is at least 90 days past due.
Neal thinks many of the delinquent sewer customers (contributing $4.7 million in arrears) are renters who have passed the bill to their landlords. But he isn’t sure. He said he’s asked administrators to detail the delinquent accounts, which is something Moore said they may not be able to do.
Neal figures relief for renters might keep the late sewer bills in check. “Maybe we can just give renters a break on their sewer increases if they’ve been there awhile,” Kilby said of rewarding long-term, responsible tenants.
The city’s policy considers only property owners for HEAP benefits. The policy would need to be rewritten in coordination with the mayor’s staff.
“[The sewer bill] needs to remain with the property owner,” said Moore. “This way, the city can guarantee that the savings are being captured by those who need it.”
“It’s an administrative and legal nightmare to try to pass it on,” McFadden, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, said of trying to track whether a tenant actually lived in any of the rental units that are now months behind on their sewer bills. “There’s no way to regulate it.”
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .