A 10 percent water and sewer discount for Chelsea homeowners, approved by the City Council on a measure sponsored by District 6 City Councillor Giovanni Recupero last month, has sparked considerable backlash from condominium owners who are ineligible for the savings.
Since the vote passed, dissatisfaction has mounted among condo residents excluded from the price reduction, and allegations of inappropriate social media conduct between council members have also surfaced. An effort by Councillor-At-Large Roy Avellaneda on Monday night to reconsider the discount ultimately failed, leaving the measure in place.
The discount applies to owner-occupied single, two-, or three-family homes and owner-occupied condominiums with individual water meters. The issue, raised by several condominium owners at Monday’s council meeting, centers on the fact that most condo units throughout the city lack individual water meters.
“I chose 15 years ago that I wanted to buy a condominium and not a house,” resident Suzanne Perry stated. “I consider this to be a basic issue of discrimination and unfairness. I’m sure it was not meant to be that way, but that’s the way it ended up.”
More than 130 people signed an online petition circulated by condominium owner Alison Cuneo by Monday night, urging the Council to reverse its water and sewer discount decision.
“I would oppose this even if I were to benefit from (the discount),” Cuneo remarked.
The discussion grew contentious early in the meeting when District 1 Councillor Robert Bishop addressed a social media post by Avellaneda. According to Bishop, Avellaneda had shared a Google maps image of his residence and swimming pool, suggesting that Bishop stood to benefit from the reduced water and sewer rates.
“Councillor Avellaneda wrote that Bob Bishop would get a discount to fill up his pool next year,” Bishop stated. “That is not only petty, but it is untrue.”
Bishop noted that like many residents, his pool has a separate individual water meter that would not be eligible for the homeowner discount.
The District 1 Councillor indicated his openness to extending the discount to condo owners, provided a method could be established to track water consumption in owner-occupied units.
A procedural vote resulted in the defeat of Avellaneda’s motion to overturn the discount.
Council President Damali Vidot determined Avellaneda’s request for another vote to be procedurally improper.
“We shouldn’t set a precedent just because this is something you disagreed with,” Vidot explained. “The majority of the Council voted in favor of adopting this.”
Avellaneda contested Vidot’s ruling that his request was out of order, but his challenge did not succeed.