With water rates increasing each year and a continuing economic recession, local water agencies report they are working more diligently than ever on past due accounts.

Dave Seymour, general manager of Rainbow Municipal Water District (RMWD), said this year his agency has sent over $200,000 in past due bills to the County of San Diego to have those amounts placed on owners’ property tax bills, compared to an average of $15,000 per year five years ago. However the amount sent to the county this year is far less than in 2011 and 2010.

"Placing an account onto the tax roles is our last-ditch attempt to work something out," said Seymour. "We try to work with customers to develop payment plans, but when all else fails, we have to do something to recover our costs." Seymour said when placing a tax lien on a property through the county, the success rate of recovery is normally 100 percent.

Seymour said a high number of RMWD’s past due accounts come from foreclosures and commercial entities that are going out of business.

"We currently have about $330,000 in charges that are seriously past due, which is about nine percent of our payables," he said.

Seymour said in July of 2011, $620,000 (17 percent) was past due and in July 2010, that number was $901,000 (27.8 percent).

"[The situation] is improving because we are intensifying our efforts to work with ratepayers to reach a resolution, and failing that, we are working harder to collect accounts that are in default," he said. "But it isn’t a sign of an improved economy. It is because we are redoubling our efforts to work with customers, develop Advertisement

[ Murrieta Volkswagen ] payment plans, and do whatever we can to make sure we recover the amount due. Our customer service staff works very hard to try and help people, but when all that fails we put the amount due on the tax rolls."

"As a result of those efforts we have been able to substantially reduce our past due accounts over the last three years," said Seymour.

Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD) general manager Brian Brady said his agency has had to "really tighten up on collections" as well.

"While we empathize with the ratepayers who are losing their homes and businesses, we have to keep in mind that every account that isn’t paid in full becomes a burden on the remaining ratepayers," explained Brady. "We get a lot of requests from customers to have their bills forgiven, but if we do that then all the rest of our customers end up subsidizing them."

Brady said FPUD past due numbers currently (July 2012) amount to $50,400 out of $1.7 million, which amounts to 2.9 percent.

"This year we have sent $29,800 (representing 29 accounts) to the County to be put on the tax rolls," said Brady.

In July 2011 at FPUD, past dues amounted to $45,400 out of $1.6 million (2.8 percent) and in July 2010 it was $44,000 out of $1.5 million (2.9 percent).

"For the last two years, the terminations of service for non-payment on a monthly basis have remained at less than half a percent (0.5 percent)," added Brady.

"Like Rainbow, we work closely with our customers to develop payment arrangements that they can meet; and, anecdotally, the number of customers requesting assistance is definitely on the rise."