The Fontana City Council recently adopted a quarterly lien action to address delinquent sewer and solid waste accounts, looking to preserve the city’s financial health by establishing a paper trail of debts with San Bernardino County. Chief Financial Officer Jessica Brown delivered the presentation to the council on March 24, reporting a lien total of nearly $119,000. “This is an administrative process — it’s not punitive action — but is designed to ensure unpaid service charges remain recoverable over time,” Brown said. “Liens being recommended at this time reflect sewer accounts that are 60 days or more delinquent and solid waste accounts that are 90 days or more delinquent.”
A lien is a legal claim or right against an asset used as collateral to satisfy a debt. In this case, the city of Fontana is seeking to ensure that the unpaid funds are not lost permanently. In taking this action, Brown explained, the city’s paying sewer and solid waste customers can avoid increased charges for their services.
According to the chief financial officer, the liens for the current quarter include 180 sewer accounts, as well as 81 solid waste accounts — amounting to $118,798 to be re corded with the county recorder’s office. Broken down, the lien amount for the delinquent sewer accounts covers approximately $80,345, while the solid waste accounts cover the remaining $38,452. The staff report states that to date, the amount of revenue the city has secured through quarterly lien actions on sewer accounts equals roughly $4.8 million and about $9.7 million for solid waste — almost $14.5 million total…