LIBERTY – At the recent Monday meeting held on November 7, the Liberty Town Board discussed how the town handles unpaid water and sewer bills on rental properties. The discussion came after a resident raised concern regarding delinquent accounts associated with tenants.

According to the town, the property owners are ultimately responsible for outstanding water and sewer charges, regardless of whether the bills were incurred by the renters. In such cases, the accounts are set up in the tenant’s name and when they move out or leave a remaining balance, the unpaid amount is then transferred and levied onto the property owners’ tax bill.

In recent weeks, board members noted that several property owners had expressed frustration over not receiving notice of the overdue charges prior to the amounts being added to their taxes. The concern was not about the law itself but whether property owners are being made aware of the overdue charges early enough to avoid unexpected costs.

Council members clarified that while delinquent balances may originate from tenant usage, the town has no authority to mediate the charges between the utility company and the tenant. Therefore, the town’s role is limited to only issuing the charges once it is an outstanding balance and that those notices are sent in advance.

The board did not make any changes to the current billing policy, and said that the existing procedure will remain in place, but noted that the issue is between the tenant and the property owner.