Council directs delinquent utility and solid‑waste charges to county tax roll; customers given deadline to cure

The City Council voted to adopt the 2026 delinquent utility and solid‑waste assessment report and to direct the assessments to the San Joaquin County Treasurer‑Tax Collector's roll.

Staff explained the multi‑step process: notice of violation and intent to record a lien, notice of charges to be assessed, and a final council public hearing required before assessments are forwarded to the county. Staff reported that earlier mailings and certified notices reduced the universe of delinquent accounts but that several thousand remained delinquent with aggregate outstanding balances presented to council. For many properties, staff said certified mailings and administrative hearings preceded the assessment step. Customers who pay by July 31 will be removed from the list; staff said payment plans may be negotiated in some cases if the customer has not been delinquent on prior payment plans.

Property owners at the meeting objected to assessments on allegedly vacant parcels with no running water; Waste Management representatives said administrative hearing processes rejected challenges in many cases but described a mix of remedies and noted a clerical error affected last year’s timing. Waste Management also outlined additional customer‑service channels (local agents, app and chat functions), and council asked staff and the company to improve outreach about payment options.

Council approved the motion by roll call; the formal vote was recorded as 7–0.