City studies changes to utility rules

Whitefish is considering making changes to its utility regulations.

The City of Whitefish says it’s experiencing an increase in the demand to manage account turnover for water, sewer and garbage. Chief among the changes being considered is eliminating deposits for accounts and requiring that accounts remain in the owner’s name or with the property management company. In addition, the city is looking at adjusting the timeline for turning off water service for past due bills.

City Council recently held a work session on the issue. City staff plans to meet with property management companies on the issue before recommending changes for a Council vote on any changes.

Currently, the city requires a property owner to deposit $150, which is then held by the city until the property is sold. Renters pay a $150 deposit until a final bill is issued.

Interim City Manager Dana Smith said liability concerns have arisen regarding holding a deposit.

“Cities don’t usually require a deposit from owners because you have the ability to put a tax lien on the property if the bill isn’t paid,” she said. “We’re also finding ourselves in an unfortunate situation between the owner and renters.”

The city has had several owner and renter conflicts including owners requesting shutoff of service to evict the renter, renters not signing up for service in a timely manner, providing different move-out dates by the renter and the owner/property manger, and the cost of water usage paid for by the renter regardless of the owner’s timeliness to fix a leak.

City Attorney Angela Jacobs said it’s important for the city to not be placed in the middle of conflicts and using public funds to assist property managers in running their businesses.

“The owner sometimes doesn’t want to go through the full process to evict the renter so they ask us to turn off the water,” she said. “But we’re taking money from the renter and if they’re in good standing then that puts us in a really uncomfortable position.”

Additionally, the large number of account changes that come as a result of high turnover in rentals is taxing city staff, Smith noted, adding that some properties go through multiple turnovers within one month. The city is managing an average of 182 account transfers per month.

“The big picture is that the city is in the middle of this,” Smith. “As we continue growing this is becoming more challenging.”

Smith said additional staff would likely be needed if changes aren’t made to the utility service regulations.

Also being considered a shift in how the city handles turn-off of water service for delinquent accounts. The city is proposing to add an additional month to elapse prior to turn-off of water service and eliminating the mailing of a late notice.

Currently, customers get 15 days notice before service is shut-off, but the proposed change would bump that to 45 days before shut-off for nonpayment.

The city is also considering bringing billing for its garbage serve back in-house. In 2016, the city adjusted the contract with its garbage provider, now Republic Services, for billing.

Smith said complaints about the garbage billing is one of the reasons the city is considering taking up the task again. If all utilities accounts remain with the property owner the city would also be able to manage garbage billing too, she noted.

The change would mean utility customers would receive one bill for water, sewer and garbage.

The goal of all the proposed changes, the city says, is to provide efficient and cost-effective services.