Commission backs retroactive billing policy with three-year cap for unbilled utility service

The Santa Barbara City Water Commission on April 17 recommended a proposed administrative policy that would allow the city to retroactively bill customers who have received water, wastewater or solid waste services without payment, with a maximum retroactive billing period capped at three years.

Staff described the policy as narrowly focused and not aimed at customers who have fallen behind on bills, but rather at cases where a customer never had an account opened yet still received city services. Water Resources staff said the most common example is when a property receives water service from a neighboring agency but discharges to the city sewer system without activating a city sewer account.

Katie Munster and Mr. Hagmark explained that staff have no statutory retroactive-billing policy today and that the proposed document (drafted with the city attorney's office) would provide guidelines for consistent recovery of charges across water, wastewater and solid waste. The proposal permits retroactive billing from the start of service but limits the retroactive period to three years because of the statute of limitations. The draft also allows customers to appeal charges to the finance director.

Staff noted they are developing procedures to reduce occurrences (for example by coordinating with neighboring agencies) and that the draft policy will be routed to the city administrator for approval after internal review. The Water Commission moved to recommend the proposed policy; the motion was seconded and passed with recorded yes votes from Commissioner Cooney, Vice Chair Keller and Chair Snyder. There were no public speakers on the item.