Council schedules public hearing after heated debate over shifting utility billing to property owners

Council members revisited a proposed change to utility billing practice that would assign account responsibility to property owners rather than renters.

City staff said the city attorney reviewed the matter and advised that it is legal for the city to adopt such a procedure. “He said, yes. It is legal,” staff told the council, citing case law the attorney provided.

Several council members responded with concerns. Council member Tiffany said she had “heartburn” about converting the change into a procedure rather than an ordinance, arguing it could affect property rights and increase housing costs by prompting higher deposits from landlords. Tiffany and others questioned whether the policy should apply uniformly to single-family rentals and multifamily units, and whether the city could delineate exceptions.

Staff and other council members said the proposal is intended in part as a preventative measure to address existing unpaid-utility problems and an expected rise in multifamily units in the coming years. Staff reported the city has roughly 1,600–1,700 residential connections now and that unpaid accounts and ‘cut-and-run’ tenants already place administrative burdens on utility clerks.

The council agreed to place the matter on the agenda for a public hearing at the first March meeting and to publish explanatory information in the March 1 city newsletter so residents and property owners can comment. Staff was tasked with doing additional research and meeting with council members ahead of the hearing.