Lively council debate over water bill responsibility in Cambridge

The debate at last night’s Cambridge City Council meeting was lively as councilors weighed a motion to hold tenants responsible for outstanding water bills.

Under the current system, when a water bill is outstanding it’s the landlord or property owner who is responsible. The motion tabled by Ward 1 Coun. Helen Shwery in May, would have the city go after the tenant.

City staff found the cost to change the current system would come in at around $1 million.

Shwery believes that is far too high and called on the creation of a task force that would look for efficiencies and lower that cost.

The taskforce would be made up of two landlords, two tenants and two residents who are neither landlords nor tenants. They would be under the direction of city staff to search out ways to bring the cost of implementing the plan down to a more reasonable number and would have to report back to council no later than the first quarter of 2025.

Shwery’s request passed by a 6-2 margin.

One of those opposed to the motion and the request for a taskforce was Ward 7 Coun. Scott Hamilton.

He questioned who would benefit from the proposed changes.

“The real discussion here is: What happens when the person who should pay doesn’t? Should that fall on the responsibility of the entire city and the entire tax base? Or, should that fall on the responsibility of the homeowner who decided to turn their piece of property into a business, because they wanted to make profit?”

Council will now wait for that report before moving forward with a vote on the original motion.