One entity owes water provider more than $190,000
BY KAREN PEARLMAN
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SANTEE — The Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board of Directors, which last week reinstated late fees and water shutoffs, plans to put tax liens on 73 delinquent accounts.
The item is on the consent calendar of the board’s meeting on Wednesday.
The district, which had given customers a grace period during the pandemic, said it is owed more than $280,000.
“This is a normal practice for us and we are obligated to collect fees for services in order for us to stay in compliance with state law,” said General Manager and CEO Allen Carlisle. “We can’t have one ratepayer group subsidize another.”
One customer owes $190,858. According to the website parcelquest.com, the property’s address is on Camino Canada in El Cajon. The mailing address for the parcel lists Rios Canyon Road and says the use of the parcel is agricultural.
Board President Doug Wilson said the property that is more than $190,000 in arears has had trouble paying in previous years and “has been in and out of that situation.”
“They managed to pull it together in the past,” Wilson said. “Based on past history, I have confidence they’ll figure it out.”
Wilson, who was re-elected to his third four-year term on the board in 2018, was Padre Dam’s General Manager from 2006-10 and was previously the district’s Director of Finance for nine years.
Other amounts owed to the district this year that are listed in the agenda item range from $118 to $4,973. Padre Dam officials said privacy issues do not allow the district to divulge the names of its customers or their properties.
Carlisle said the district works with ratepayers before going the tax lien route.
In 2020, the district submitted $66,900 for property tax collection, collecting $65,900.
Padre Dam Director Suzanne Till said she is concerned the item is not part of the board’s action agenda, which allows for discussion before approval or denial.
“This does not belong on consent, there needs to be a public discussion about it,” Till said Tuesday afternoon.
The 3:30 p.m. meeting can be accessed by visiting https://www.padredam.org/269/Agendas-Minutes
Padre Dam provides water, sewer, recycled water and recreation services to more than 100,000
residents in East County, including those in Santee, El Cajon, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, Harbison Canyon, Blossom Valley, Alpine, Dehesa and Crest.