Riverwoods board directs staff to draft water-bill forgiveness policy after resident’s $3,500 charge

Mayor Ford presided over a discussion Thursday night after resident Steve Cohen told the Village of Riverwoods Board of Trustees that an underground leak produced a $3,500 water bill for his home at 556 Thorn Gate Lane, up from a prior bill of about $950.

The board voted to direct staff to draft a formal policy for utility-bill forgiveness and related procedures and, in the interim, to work with Mr. Cohen on a payment plan and to charge any overage at the village’s wholesale water cost. Director Vasquez said the village will pause late fees on the account while the board develops the policy.

Why it matters: Trustees said they were trying to balance compassion for residents with the need to preserve water-fund revenue and avoid creating open-ended precedent. Several trustees said the village should not fully absorb wholesale water costs that it pays to Northbrook, but that reasonable accommodation was appropriate in some cases.

What trustees, staff and residents said - Resident Steve Cohen said the leak was underground and invisible and told the board: “We’re talking about a water bill that is $3,500. My previous water bill was $950.” - Director Vasquez (Finance Director) outlined options and recommended procedures the village could adopt when considering relief, saying the wholesale water rate the village pays to Northbrook is a logical amount to collect and that a forgiveness policy could include verification and limits. - Trustee Jamerson pushed for stronger verification of prevailing-wage paperwork in an earlier conversation about contractors, and during the billing discussion moved that the board “create a policy” to handle leak-related overages; the motion passed by voice vote.

Policy elements discussed - Proof of repair by a licensed plumber or contractor before relief is granted (Director Vasquez recommended requiring contractor documentation). - Enrollment in the Ion Water usage-monitoring app as part of eligibility for relief; staff said the app’s alerts help detect large leaks early. - Limiting relief frequency (for example, once per account over a long interval) to avoid repeated claims from the same household. - A calculation approach the board discussed: compare the leak period to the account’s historical usage and charge the overage at the wholesale cost the village paid to Northbrook; examples were discussed where a village previously used a fraction (one-third to one-half) of the calculated overage as relief. - Retroactivity: a trustee moved and the board agreed the new policy should be applied retroactively to Mr. Cohen’s case while the policy is drafted.

Next steps and interim actions - Trustees directed staff to draft a written policy incorporating the concepts discussed and to return with a proposed ordinance or administrative rule for board review. - Director Vasquez told the board she would pause late fees and other “punitive measures” on Mr. Cohen’s account while staff and the board develop the policy and work directly with the homeowner on a payment plan.

Context and local details - The bill in question covered roughly a three-month period; Mr. Cohen reported metered use in the tens of thousands of gallons (about 40,000 gallons during the high-reading period vs. a more typical 5,000 gallons). He said the leak was below grade and was not visible at the surface. - Director Vasquez and trustees noted the village purchases water wholesale from Northbrook; the board emphasized that any forgiveness reduces the water fund’s revenue and must be weighed against long-term fund stability.

Ending note: Trustees asked staff to return with a draft policy that includes eligibility requirements, documentation standards, limits on frequency of relief, and a calculation method for relief amounts. Director Vasquez said she would accept trustees’ suggested language and prepare the draft for a future meeting.