Baltimore water $hutoff$ 2015 (house, tax, living in)

[carthell]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

So they owe about 250????

That shows how poor Baltimore is. $250 breaks the bank of these people?

That, along with the utility bill and the rent or mortgage, wipes out the first paycheck of many of the people that I know and knew. Throw in personal expenses like food, credit cards, cable, repairs, a financial emergency, etc. and the people I know are in debt with someone (or shutting things off) until the second paycheck for the month comes in. After the debt is paid off, the wage-earner hopes that he or she has enough left over to make the debt incurred during the first week of the next month less crushing than it is. The situation exists for many people in the city who live in a four-person household.

Competition for low-wage, non-degreed, and government jobs here is fierce. Getting a better wage requires a sheepskin from a higher educational institution, but the bills don't stop because a person decides to enroll in a college or university.

[steppinthrax]

Originally Posted by carthell

That, along with the utility bill and the rent or mortgage, wipes out the first paycheck of many of the people that I know and knew. Throw in personal expenses like food, credit cards, cable, repairs, a financial emergency, etc. and the people I know are in debt with someone (or shutting things off) until the second paycheck for the month comes in. After the debt is paid off, the wage-earner hopes that he or she has enough left over to make the debt incurred during the first week of the next month less crushing than it is. The situation exists for many people in the city who live in a four-person household.

Competition for low-wage, non-degreed, and government jobs here is fierce. Getting a better wage requires a sheepskin from a higher educational institution, but the bills don't stop because a person decides to enroll in a college or university.

Your response can be summarized like this.

"Families who live pay-check to pay-check where any little extra cost will put them overboard, they have no college degree and expect to find non-degreed federal employment. They are faced with the daunting fact that the only way to get higher pay is to go to college. They still have to pay their bills while in college???????????"

What are you saying here, I don't get it. This is common sense if someone lacks a degree and basic skill-set. Do you suggest someone to give them a free-ride.

[carthell]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

What are you saying here, I don't get it. This is common sense if someone lacks a degree and basic skill-set. Do you suggest someone to give them a free-ride.

Who's suggesting a free ride? I'm telling what I've experienced and seen.

It it common sense for people who know. Others, not so much; otherwise, there wouldn't be questions about struggling with a $250 water bill.
.

[steppinthrax]

Originally Posted by carthell

Who's suggesting a free ride? I'm telling what I've experienced and seen.

It it common sense for people who know. Others, not so much; otherwise, there wouldn't be questions about struggling with a $250 water bill.
.

I understand your description, but it's another example of social irresponsibility. In Baltimore you have families like this that are very tight. There is always a possibility that some things happen (increases in water, food etc...). Don't bite off more than you can chew.

[carthell]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

I understand your description, but it's another example of social irresponsibility. In Baltimore you have families like this that are very tight. There is always a possibility that some things happen (increases in water, food etc...). Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Life never follows a individual's plans completely, nor is there complete transparent information that precedes all decisions.

[BMoreJuice]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

You can't make a straight line comparison on water costs. That's because each system is individual with widely varying capital costs. Water is, generally, cheap to get after you factor out capital costs.

Where I grew up uses all surface water from an impoundment built in the 1920s. The cost to acquire that water is almost zero. Unlike most systems here they don't depend on wells. There are treatment costs and capital costs for that equipment and the cost of maintaining/upgrading the pipes.

Sewer is what ramps up the cost when the water/sewer bills are combined.

Back to the original post. There are no requirements for "public hearings" to shut off water and sewer.

The people, and businesses, just need to pay their damned bills. As one of the water authority people said when this came out several days ago, "The people who pay their bills are subsidizing those who don't."

Yet people in the city are paying outrageous prices when others not so much. I do agree that pay must pay their bills or the system will crumble. It's probably more of a farse than anything.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by BMoreJuice

Yet people in the city are paying outrageous prices when others not so much. I do agree that pay must pay their bills or the system will crumble. It's probably more of a farse than anything.

I don't know. The "typical" residential bill on the website is around $200/quarter for 21 units. I don't what a "unit" is but if it's 1000 gallons the price is pretty close to what most systems are charging.

Department of Public Works > Bureaus > Water & Wastewater > Customer Support and Services > Rates

That includes the $15/quarter Flush Tax.

You can see that sewer is way more expensive than water. Hold on to whatever you want to hold on to because those rates are likely to double and double again over the next ten years as the full cost impact of the required ENR upgrades start coming on-line.

[seanlax]

Originally Posted by steppinthrax

I understand your description, but it's another example of social irresponsibility. In Baltimore you have families like this that are very tight. There is always a possibility that some things happen (increases in water, food etc...). Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Dude you are so out of touch... these families are hardly biting anything at all, so what could they possibly have to chew?

Given the choice of
- collectively paying, or at least floating money as a taxpayer for people to survive and not spread disease OR
- micro-manage people's lives to the point of controlling the subsidies/welfare benefits these families receive and determine for them whether or not to leave the water on....

Well I choose humanity. And so should you.

FWIW, our quarterly water bill was $150 for two people who are fairly water-conscious. Obviously this is using OC's rate, but think about what having 3 kids can do to that!

[choccity]

The leadership in Baltimore is horrible. How does it get to this drastic action of publicly announcing that people's water is going to be shut off? The city knew about these delinquencies. Why the urgency now? I guess all these water pipes breaking is getting costly. The Water Bureau needs to be audited. Increase in water rates well over 40%, and remember BGE went up like 75%. Also remember that b.s. Red light camera system that was bilking money from people who weren't speeding at all!! Then a large amount of "ticket" fines were refunded to motorists. Too much corruption in Baltimore to believe that even these shutoff are legit. I'm not saying not to pay your water bill or any bill. But the city should have collected sooner than later and now public shaming is involved. That's weak leadership.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by choccity

How does it get to this drastic action of publicly announcing that people's water is going to be shut off?

The implication seems to be so that the excuse makers won't have any more ammunition.

The city knew about these delinquencies.

And so did the debtors (owner or tenant)

Why the urgency now?

One job at a time.