City Council reviewed policies to extend the period before water service is shut off for customers that are late on payments Tuesday. These changes are in compliance with senate bill 998 passed in 2018, meant to protect Californians from losing water access.
The new policies require a 60-day delinquency period before water service is shut off for those late on payments and offers deferred payment plans or arrangements for those who qualify.
“We really are trying to serve the customer, and I also think that’s what the intention of the law is trying to do, is give people more time, more notice before you just turn their water off,” Dylan Feik said at the City Council meeting.
For Monrovians, this increases the water service’s notification timeline from a total of 41 days to a total of 83 days. In addition, the city will no longer send out delinquent notices. Instead, those late on payments will have their delinquent amount reflected on the next water bill.
“We always work with our customers if they have concerns about their bill, whether it’s a consumption issue or a difficulty in paying by the shutoff date, we work with our customers to resolve their issues,” Deputy Administrative Services Director Alex Kung said at the city council meeting.
SB 998 also requires the city to translate the policies into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Korean.
