Legislative Investigations Committee to Hold Commercial Water Bill Hearing

Legislative Investigations Committee to Hold Commercial Water Bill Hearing 

Council President Scott Pens Letter to Mayor Young Regarding Water Bills Ahead of Legislative Investigations Committee Hearing 

BALTIMORE, MD (March 3, 2020) — Tomorrow, March 4 at 5:00pm, at the request of Council President Brandon M. Scott, the Baltimore City Council Legislative Investigations Committee, chaired by Councilmember Kristerfer Burnett (8th District), will hold an oversight hearing on the administration’s failure to send water bills to scores of commercial and residential water customers.  Despite knowing about the problem for months, the scope is still unknown. City Council President Brandon Scott called for this hearing in January following a report from WBAL-TV finding that the city failed to bill the Ritz Carlton Residences, a luxury condo development, for several years. This resulted in a loss of over $2 million to the city. 

Since that initial finding, the Baltimore Sun reported that the city has failed to send water bills to at least 40 additional businesses, who self-reported to the city that they were not receiving water bills. Nearly 800 accounts or addresses are still pending investigation. The administration anticipates completing the audit by May of this year. 

“It has been over a month since I initially called for this hearing.” said Council President Scott. “Since then, there have been even more reports that the administration has failed to do its part in ensuring that everyone in Baltimore is held accountable for their accurate share of water. This is unacceptable.” 

The Baltimore City Council has been active in using its legislative and oversight powers to hold the administration and Department of Public Works accountable. The Water Accountability and Equity Act, which the Council passed last year, will improve the dispute resolution process when a business or resident receives what they believe to be an erroneous water bill, making the process more transparent and solution-oriented. Implementation will begin in April.

It will also make water affordable for all Baltimoreans, ensuring that no resident is paying more than 3% of their monthly income on water.

Today, President Scott sent a letter to Mayor Young outlining a series of questions that will be asked in tomorrow’s hearing, including questions left unanswered by the administration over a month ago.

“We are going to ask very specific questions in tomorrow’s hearing regarding this audit to shed light on how our city ended up in this position to begin with, and how we will avoid it in the future,” said Scott. “This is about more than a failed water billing system. This is about basic transparency and accountability in our government. We need to be fighting with everything we have to rebuild trust with Baltimore’s residents. That begins with addressing this major issue. Being that I outlined many of my questions in a letter to Mayor Young, I expect the administration to come fully prepared tomorrow evening to get these questions answered.” 

Tomorrow’s hearing will begin at 5:00pm in the Clarence “Du” Burns Council Chamber, located at City Hall, 100 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. 

People can also watch the hearing on Charm TV (channel 25), or stream the hearing live from President Scott’s official Facebook page: @CouncilPresBMS.