Audit blames poor communication between departments for Chicago's water billing woes
Poor communication and data errors between two city departments have led to massive and inaccurate water bills and unexplained spikes in billing, according to a new audit released by the Chicago Office of Inspector General.
The Department of Finance and the Department of Water Management have not consistently shared information about faulty meters, estimated bills, or account adjustments — leaving some customers with huge spikes in their water bills.
"The range of that was from approximately $1,000 to one case study where the individual, the spike was approximately $23,000," said interim Inspector General Tobara Richardson.
The inspector general's audit looked at six case study accounts over a five-year period from April 2019 through March 2024.
"What we were able to find was that, although some building spikes are caused by leaks, here what we saw was that building spikes can also be caused by poor communication and errors by the Department of Water Management and the Department of Finance," Richardson said.
The audit found that lack of communication between both departments was responsible for residents receiving massive inaccurate water bills and unexplained billing spikes.
Information wasn't shared about faulty meters, estimated bills, and account adjustments; and when customers tried to get answers, Richardson said the audit found they often struggled to get clear answers or timely corrections, leaving billing data errors sometimes unresolved for months.
"You expect to be able to call and receive the help that you're looking for. It ended up being, in some instances, a confusing process and where ultimately there ended up being either duplicate reports or errors made in those communications," she said.
The audit also found the two departments lacked coordinated oversight and accountability when it came to faulty water bills.
For years, the CBS News Chicago Investigators, in their Getting Hosed series, reported on people collectively receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bogus water bills. That investigation uncovered many of the same problems now highlighted in the inspector general's audit — especially failures involving faulty meters, estimated billing, lack of communication between city departments, and residents being hit with massive bills for water they never used.
"We're bringing it to the city's attention again in the hopes that we can see some response, specifically, to our recommendations," Richardson said.
The inspector general said, to get immediate change, the service process needs to be improved along with the communication between both city departments. She said that would help customers address issues quickly.
"Ultimately, it's important for us to remember that the cost of living is going up for all Chicago residents, and where there is an opportunity to make improvements so that those who are experiencing billing spikes don't have to go through a confusing, daunting process to receive a basic city service, that where we can make those improvements, as we have recommended in our report, that those improvements are made and made swiftly," Richardson said.