D.A. Williams also had PGW lien

APPARENTLY, paying your bills on time isn't a requirement for holding elected office in the city of Philadelphia.

On the same day the Daily News reported that Philadelphia Gas Works had placed a lien on Mayor Nutter's home for being delinquent on his gas bill, news broke that District Attorney Seth Williams was delinquent on his gas bill last year.

The blog Philadelinquency posted about the lien on Williams' property yesterday. Court records show the city placed a lien on Williams' Overbrook home April 14, 2012, and the outstanding bill - $578.73 - was satisfied a month later.

"Unfortunately, like thousands of Philadelphians, I got behind in my gas bill and I made arrangements to catch up," Williams told the Daily News yesterday.

Meanwhile, Nutter provided an explanation about his late payment to reporters at a City Hall news conference yesterday.

"At some point in time there was a bill or a portion of the bill that I thought I had paid. It was not. I made a mistake," Nutter said. "I wasn't putting it off. I made a human error."

Nutter had received a three-day shutoff notice May 3 and a lien was placed on his Wynnefield home May 18. He paid the overdue amount, $507.76, last week.

Generally, a lien requires months of nonpayment. After a customer becomes at least $300 in arrears for at least 90 days, PGW will send three notices to alert the customer that a lien could be placed on the property. If the bill is still outstanding after another 60 days, a lien will be placed on the property.

Nutter said yesterday that he hadn't noticed any notices from the gas utility, noting that he and his family are "a fairly busy family." He also said he did not know how long the bill had been outstanding.

Nutter, who is exploring a potential sale of PGW, praised the gas utility's collection efforts.

Blog: ph.ly/PhillyClout