Some Toledo Water Liens Illegal
From 13ABC I-Team News:
Dozens of you have voiced your opinion about the questionable collection practices we uncovered in the city of Toledo. Now the I-Team has found there could be an effort to make them illegal.
We met with an attorney today who says a number of property owners are waiting to see what changes Mayor Mike Bell makes to the city’s collection policies. If they don’t like what they see, they’ll take the city to court.
Scott Ciolek says Toledo’s collection practices don’t match up with Ohio law. Our I-Team investigation found Toledo is trying to force some homeowners to pay a previous owner’s unpaid water bill.
Ciolek says the city can’t do that. “The lien is only good against the user of the water, not against subsequent owners.”
Mayor Bell reacted to our investigation, promising changes. Still, he said what’s been done is legal. That’s important because many homeowners are now asking for their money back.
Yesterday, Bell said, “We haven’t been doing anything illegal so somebody talking about a refund that’d be something we’d have to evaluate but I’m not going to necessarily say that’s the direction we’re going in because that is the process. What we’re trying to do now under the new policy is get it right.”
Ciolek says the only right way is never force a homeowner to pay somebody else’s bill. He’s working with a group of property investors. He says the investors are willing to pay his legal fees to ensure they don’t have to fight the city on old water bills for the properties they own, or the properties they buy. “If we get a declaratory judgment from a local district judge or a court of appeals judge that would make a clear statement about what the law is in this district.”
Such a judgment could potentially mean protection for every Toledo homeowner. For now, before buying a home it’s best to check with the city and make sure the water bill is current. And if you’ve received a bill from an old owner, the city says you can appeal. The city has already dropped some of the cases we first discovered.
