Council Declines Action On Request To Reduce Water Rates For Unoccupied Residences In Multi-family Dwellings
Author: Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
Council Declines Action on Request to Reduce Water Rates for Unoccupied Residences in Multi-family Dwellings
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Townsend’s City Council declined Jan. 7 to take action on a citizen’s request to amend the city’s water ordinance to allow owners of multi-unit dwellings to pay for city services only for those units that are occupied.
In reviewing the request, council member JB Howick stated that, as the owner of an unoccupied property used for storage, “As I sat back and thought about whether it would be fair for me to ask the city to waive the monthly water bill just because we are using the building for storage and not as an occupied business, the conclusion I came to is this: there is an obligation, in my opinion, for property owners within the boundaries of the city to support the city. . . . I came to the conclusion that I could not support the request.”
“I don’t know how we can make an exception and open that can of worms for her when you have other people who have buildings that have multiple units of housing in them and, just because they’re vacant, they don’t get to turn their water off,” Council member Vivian Boaz added. She also cited the strong demand for rental housing in the community.
Mayor Vicki Rauser noted that the council had received a similar request around 50 years ago and declined to accommodate the requestor at that time. “This would be consistent with that determination years ago,” she said.
The request died without a motion to amend the ordinance.
