FRSNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno City Council halts excessive water use fines.
Council held a special meeting Thursday morning, unanimously approving a moratorium.
The proposal was crafted by Council Members Steve Brandau and Garry Bredefeld with Mayor Lee Brand backing it.
Now, all fines will be suspended, and those fines incurred since October 1, 2018 will be refunded.
“I was kinda staggered with how many people we had to work with now, granted some of the calls were based on ignorance, and some of the calls were based on frustration,” said Council Members Steve Brandau.
The resolution is a result of significant public confusion and concern over the City’s new watering violation policy, which was approved by City Council on October 19, 2017 but was not implemented until this past summer as part of a pilot water conservation program set up by the University of Chicago.
“We’re roughly getting now about 25,000 per month versus 1000 violations per month before,” said Mayor Brand.
Council Member Brandau says results from a water survey will help as Fresno City Council adopts new water usage rules, which will likely be voted on in January
If any customer has a question or complaint about their water bill or notification of violation, they are asked to call 621-5480.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’S Liz Kern:
