Letter to the Editor: When are New Rockford utilities considered a tax and not a service?

Upon receiving a utility bill for water, sewer and garbage service on an investment housing property I’m in the process of rehabilitating, I promptly reached out to our city auditor Becki Schumacher, as we had not received any prior bills to date. We purchased the property from Eddy County at auction on the courthouse steps. The property was abandoned and had gone back to the county for failure to pay taxes.

We’ve owned the property for about 1 ½ years and have been working on bringing it up to standards as a rental. We have since been promptly paying its property taxes and its assessed specials. At some point after the property was abandoned, all utilities were disconnected including removing meters such as gas and water.

Becki shared with me that the city commission had made the decision to have all properties with existing service billed for all utilities. I shared with her that the property is not connected to the city water supply at this time, as we are not currently heating the structure and the water system needs work and to be tested. She replied that I needed to visit with the city commission.

I then called the president of the city commission, Stu Richter, and asked for clarification. He said that the commissioners made the decision to start billing properties that aren't currently being billed to force property owners to get their projects done. This sentiment was confirmed by commissioner Kelly McKnight at the Monday, June 5 meeting.

As a prior city commissioner, I know that this type of action needs to follow the city ordinance and not be of personal desires. While meeting with the commission on June 5 and asking for clarification from the group, it was clear that it is not spelled out within our city ordinance. It is obvious that the decision made by the commission is being made based on personal motives and not by following the ordinance.

In conclusion, the billing of utility services for a property that is not receiving any city services and cannot use or take advantage of these services until further repairs can be completed can only be considered a tax. Which brings up the slogan from our original colonists, “Taxation without Representation.” We are required to pay taxes to a government authority without having any say in that government's policy, as their decision falls outside the scope of the city ordinance. Some might consider this a tyrannical decision by our city commissioners.

Larry Danduran,

resident of Eddy County and City of New Rockford property owner