City Has $161 Million In Uncollected Water Bills

City Controller Alan Butkovitz, in a report released today, said an investigation by his office last year shows that the city has $161 million in uncollected revenue bills.

Some highlights:

One Day At A Time, a non-profit that works with the homeless and people with addictions, had $276,011 in unpaid bills wiped off the city's books last July by order of then City Solicitor Romulo Diaz. The Water Revenue Bureau has no explanation on file for why that happened.

The Water Revenue Bureau's director of Technical Operations delayed installing an electronic water meter in his home for nine years, calling in his usage instead. The Bureau found he under-reported his bill by $1,900. The city's Inspector General investigated and the employee retired in August.

The bureau had 62,000 customer accounts that were unpaid for more than three months in a row. Butkovitz found some accounts that were allowed to go delinquent for 15 years before water service was shut off.