YOUNGSTOWN Landlords take issue over bills

The water department and landlords differ on interpreting the 45-day rule.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Valley landlords are challenging the city water department's method of collecting back payments.
A property owners group was to announce this morning that it will sue the city for the unfair responsibility put on landlords. The water department says it's just following its own rules. At issue is how much in tenants' unpaid water charges landlords should be responsible for paying.
The Mahoning Valley Real Estate Investors Association -- a group of landlords in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties -- contends that city policy says landlords aren't responsible for charges more than 45 days after a tenant's account becomes delinquent, said Sam Naples, an association board member.
Full payment demanded
The city, however, is demanding full payment from landlords on all delinquencies, Naples said. The city and its collection agency are obtaining judgments against landlords for thousands of dollars when tenants don't pay, he said. That's hurting the credit ratings of landlords, which is important to their businesses, he said. Blemishes on credit histories affect the ability to borrow money.
"Landlords live and die by their credit score," Naples said. "We think this is something that needs to be fixed."
The group has erected billboards on Belmont and Mahoning avenues and Market Street seeking additional landlords to be part of the lawsuit.
The city water department doesn't interpret the 45-day rule the same as landlords. The policy says property owners are responsible for all back payments due until landlords request that tenant water be shut off for nonpayment, plus up to an additional 45 days, said Charles P. Sammarone, water commissioner.
The policy gives the city up to 45 days to turn the water off. The city has 58,000 accounts and can't immediately send someone to shut off water, said John Casciano, the water department's office manager and auditor.
State law
State law puts ultimate responsibility for water charges on property owners, not tenants, so the city holds landlords accountable after trying to collect from tenants, Sammarone said.
Gas, electric and other utilities, however, can go after tenants only to recover delinquent payments.
The city shuts off water as soon as it legally can to minimize big delinquencies, Sammarone said. Back payments that reach several thousand dollars occur when tenants illegally turn water back on to their residences, he said. Several stolen devices used to turn off water service are floating around the city, with thieves charging residents $10 or $20 for turning the water back on, he said.
The bottom line is that the city must pursue payment, and state law puts that responsibility on property owners, not renters, he said.
Naples disputes the assertion that the city shuts off water in a timely way. Some landlords call the city to turn off water but still get stuck with bills for thousands of dollars for nonpayment dating several years, he said. The city doesn't care because landlords always end up paying the delinquencies, he said.
"They know they've got us over a barrel," he said.
Taxpayers lose, too, Naples said, when the city's collection agency settles with landlords. Some landlords settle for 40 cents on the dollar to clear the delinquency, leaving taxpayers out the rest, he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com