Sean C. Morgan
The city of Sweet Home has about 800 water and sewer accounts remaining past due for up to 14 years, and it’s informing property owners that the past-due accounts are considered liens on their properties, regardless of who accrued the bill.
“It’s an effort to notify property owners of what is out there,” said Public Works Office Manager Cindi Robeck, adding that some property owners might not be aware of an uncollected bill and lien. “Some people know they were responsible but didn’t realize something was there.”
Others don’t even realize they may be responsible for paying an old bill, she said.
“We’re understanding. That’s why we want people to come in and talk to us. We’ll work with you.”
The letters are not requests for immediate payment. They simply inform property owners of any and all delinquent accounts associated with the property. Any such accounts must be paid only when refinancing or selling the property. The lien appears on the title report and must be paid before a title company can give clear title.
In many cases, tenants leave unpaid water and sewer bills, and in some, previous property owners may have outstanding water and sewer bills, accruing a $2 late fee and 1.5-percent interest penalty per month.
“We continue to try to collect from an account holder, but if it goes unpaid, it is a lienable amount on the property,” Robeck said.
The city continues to send a bill to account holders each month as long as the city has a valid mailing address. If someone with a delinquent account signs up for water service anywhere else within Sweet Home, he or she must pay any past due balances in his or her name.
The delinquent bill does not affect credit scores. The city does not report to any credit agency.
In the case of renters who have outstanding bills, property owners are held liable for the bills based on city ordinance.
In the case of inheriting other property owners’ bills, “the lien should have been paid off at the time the property sold,” said Finance Director Pat Gray. Sometimes title companies don’t look for municipal liens, and often sales occur without a lien search at all among family members or when sales are closed using attorneys.
One woman, who did not have a search done when she purchased her property, told Gray she was unaware of a lien until she went to a bank to refinance.
Informing the property owners has been the goal since Robeck started sending letters out in July.
“I’ve been trying to do them in blocks of 100,” Robeck said.
“We were doing nothing,” Gray said, noting that hitherto the city has relied on banks paying on liens.
The city is trying to be proactive with the information, Gray said. Other cities send the past-due bills to collections, while others don’t do anything to inform property owners of their responsibility.
In Lebanon, for example, the last notice a property owner gets is a red past-due notice, Robeck said. “They try to collect it like we do, but if not, it’s a lien on the property.”
After a service is turned off, if it is not paid promptly, it begins accruing late fees and interest, Robeck said.
The city has been dropping the late fees and interest when property owners come in to pay the outstanding bills, she said.
The city will likely send out notices regularly, Robeck said, perhaps six months or a year in between.
“We’ve upgraded software, which allows us to better track it,” said City Manager Craig Martin. The city will be able to do a better job of keeping people aware of potential costs associated with their properties.
Martin estimated that the outstanding bills, not counting interest and late fees, are about $100 each.