If you are or have a landlord in the city of Astoria, pay attention because some new rules are going to affect the way utility bills are handled.

The Astoria City Council held a public hearing Monday evening on a draft resolution that would place responsibility with landlords for unpaid tenant utility bills.

Finance Director Mark Carlson estimates $2,600 every month is never recovered on unpaid utility bills and the city has had enough.

Weve done some research over the last 24 months, Carlson said of the $2,600 estimate. Thats going to collections and in essence will never be collected. Actually, more has gone to collections, but about $2,600 well never see again.

Carlson said collections have to be done for six or seven years, making up part of the reason why the money wont be seen again. Also, people have given fake names when signing up for service or have moved out of the area, contributing to the problem.

Not all of the problems have been tenant-caused, Carlson said. But about 95 percent of them are accrued that way.

 The new rules would allow the city to charge landlords for the unpaid bills. Regardless of whether there is a tenant inside a rental unit, the water, for example, that has been shut off to a unit will not be turned back on until the debt has been repaid. 

If not paid in 60 days, the city will have the right to place a lien on the property.

Sean Fitzpatrick, a local landlord, was the only member of the public to speak.

He was surprised the city did not have something like this already in place, calling the move fair and equitable.  However, he asked the city not to pass down to the landlords any penalties late fees or fines a tenant may accrue.

I would ask the city not to be punitive towards landlords on this, Fitzpatrick said. Weve worked in cities where they have given us very little notice that the tenants have not paid their water bill, and theyve held us responsible for the penalties but dont give us time to actually get the bill in without being held responsible for those penalties.

I think most landlords are happy to take responsibility when their tenants cant, but we dont like the idea of being penalized for the actions of our tenants.

The deposit when signing up for service will be increased from $98 to $150. Customers signing up for service would be required to come in in-person with identification, if the Council passes the resolution. 

Carlson said the city of Astoria researched 12 other cities to see how their policies match up.

This addition to the rules does line up with most cities, Carlson said.

Mayor Willis Van Dusen expressed concern about the increased deposit because renters already have a lot of costs to pay up front, including first months rent, last months rent, cleaning deposit, and more.

It gets to be a lot, he said.

Carlson said there are fairly uniform rules although other cities surveyed varied on the deposit amount.

There is discretion in the rules so we can look at a case-by-case basis as we go along, Carlson said. 

The resolution is still in draft form, so the Council did not take a vote after the public hearing ended. Members did signal a vote of confidence in the city staff for moving in the right direction. City Manager Paul Benoit said the proposal in final form should come back to the Council for vote in October.

 

In other city news;

Today is Julie Flues Day in the city of Astoria. The former director of the local American Red Cross chapter until last month when the Red Cross did some rearranging within the organization was recognized by the Astoria City Council for her hard work and dedication to the citizens of the city. Van Dusen and Fire Chief Lenard Hansen said they both felt the Red Cross was making a huge mistake in losing a valuable team player for the community. Flues thanked the city for making her a really cool mom for a day, with her son Logan, as well as her mom, in the audience.

Weather permitting, the city of Astoria has planned a dedication to the new Franklin Street Bridge at 11 a.m. Friday. The Bridge stretching over 38th Street received a Dr. Edward Harvey Historic Preservation award earlier this year. Now complete, the ribbon cutting ceremony will be held.