Councilman Faria and Botehlo To Head Subcommittee On New Utilities Ordinance

I am pleased to see that there has been recent movement in a new water utilities ordinance. In other cities and towns, Subcommittees are established to work on important proper legislation, prior to having it brought before the Council. I believe a subcommittee for this type of water ordinance will serve as a great model going forward. Councilman Botehlo and I have worked very well together on joint issues in the past. "We brought Barrington to the table together to answer to the Odor issue at the Sewer Plant and we also worked on the charter amendments, reviewing all the decisions made by the charter commission. I believe Joe has a lot to offer on this topic and I'm looking forward to working with him to pass a comprehensive appeals policy."

As stated previously, the intention and objective is to simply establish due process for any constituent that cannot perhaps find resolve at an administrative level and implement policy for any resident that may be experiencing a true financial or medical hardship. Recently, the Council was open to further discussion on hearing legitimate hardship cases, but did not necessarily want to create another board or Commission, as I had originally worked with the idea of a Utilities Commission. With a stated interest and under Mayor Briden's advisement, Councilman Botehlo and I have worked with the idea of forming a subcommittee to review both the city's current collection practices and the City's claims and abatement procedure.

At the moment there is nothing in policy considering these hardships or any type of an appellate process to perhaps review the forced tax sale of a home. This subcommittee could consider other options while weighing all the factors. At the end of the day what's most important to me is we're here for any constituent experiencing legitimate hardship circumstances and move forward with an attainable, fair, and equitable result both to the resident and our City.

Councilman Brian Faria

Ward 4