City Ordinance - consumer responsible for under street Sewage

L

Lisa Willey MEd

New Member
Jurisdiction
Texas
Looking for knowledge to help homeowners in Sherman, Tx. City ordinance makes consumers responsible for repairs to sewer tap under street. Homeowners are spending over $10K to make sewage line repairs under street. Seems extraordinary and suspicious. Want to help neighboring city to help fight this ordinance. City of Sherman, Texas ordinance 13.07.147
 
Lisa Willey MEd said:
Looking for knowledge to help homeowners in Sherman, Tx. City ordinance makes consumers responsible for repairs to sewer tap under street. Homeowners are spending over $10K to make sewage line repairs under street. Seems extraordinary and suspicious. Want to help neighboring city to help fight this ordinance. City of Sherman, Texas ordinance 13.07.147
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This occurs all over the country, but seems a bit more pernicious across the Republic of Texas.

Fighting the establishment is risky.

Try that and you might be called a anarchist, worse yet, an insurrectionist.

You do have a right to take the dispute to the courts, avoiding the streets.

You can also organize and band together as homeowners and taxpayers.

The overlords always getcha, one way or another.

Suppose you organize 200 homeowners, everyone throws $500 into a legal defense fund. All of a sudden, your concerned homeowners of Sherman is sitting on $100,000.00!!!

You can hire a lobbyist, perhaps a law firm to formally surface your concerns to the overlords.

Otherwise, you could start seeking alternative abodes, located in places where government communicates, rather than dictates.

It might be the time to start a recall of those elected officials running roughshod over the citizenry.
 
Lisa Willey MEd said:
Looking for knowledge to help homeowners in Sherman, Tx. City ordinance makes consumers responsible for repairs to sewer tap under street. Homeowners are spending over $10K to make sewage line repairs under street. Seems extraordinary and suspicious. Want to help neighboring city to help fight this ordinance. City of Sherman, Texas ordinance 13.07.147
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What that ordinance requires is pretty common; you'll find similar ordinances in cities and counties across the nation. The idea is that the line from main to your home is your responsibility because you are the only one benefiting from that part of the system. I the housing are where are located is decades old, it is not a surprise that some homes may have lines that now need to be repaired or replaced. Yes, it sucks to have to pay that. Homeowners have to pay for a lot of things for upkeep on their homes, and this is one of them. You can discuss with an attorney whether there were any mistakes or problems in setting up that ordinance that you could use to fight it. If they did everything right, however, I'm not seeing any obvious case here to pursue. Note that fighting it may cost you more than the work that needs to be done. The litigation can easily run into thousands of dollars. Even if you win and the court says it's not your problem, what then? That doesn't necessarily make the city responsible for it.

Keep the receipts for everything you pay for this work since you will be able to add amount to the income tax basis of your home, which will reduce the gain when you sell it later.
 
Tax Counsel said:
What that ordinance requires is pretty common; you'll find similar ordinances in cities and counties across the nation. The idea is that the line from main to your home is your responsibility because you are the only one benefiting from that part of the system. I the housing are where are located is decades old, it is not a surprise that some homes may have lines that now need to be repaired or replaced. Yes, it sucks to have to pay that. Homeowners have to pay for a lot of things for upkeep on their homes, and this is one of them. You can discuss with an attorney whether there were any mistakes or problems in setting up that ordinance that you could use to fight it. If they did everything right, however, I'm not seeing any obvious case here to pursue. Note that fighting it may cost you more than the work that needs to be done. The litigation can easily run into thousands of dollars. Even if you win and the court says it's not your problem, what then? That doesn't necessarily make the city responsible for it.

Keep the receipts for everything you pay for this work since you will be able to add amount to the income tax basis of your home, which will reduce the gain when you sell it later.
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adjusterjack said:
It's actually 13.07.148. Sewer-service lines.
(a) The installation of the sewer-service line will be made by the developer or consumer and the maintenance of the sewer-service line from the sewer tap in the main to the structure will be the responsibility of the consumer.

City of Sherman, TX In General: § 13.07.148 Sewer-service lines. (ecode360.com)

How do you think you are going to "help" fight that?
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This is an ordinance in the city near me. Wanted to help neighbors in low to moderate income area with factual options. Currently, the residents are complaining but do not have any course of action plan. I have no experience in guiding them to a solution.
 
What is the ordinance where you actually live, is there one? If not, how you fight it is by appearing at the appropriate city or county meetings and having your say when the rules are being proposed and debated.
 
mightymoose said:
What is the ordinance where you actually live, is there one? If not, how you fight it is by appearing at the appropriate city or county meetings and having your say when the rules are being proposed and debated.
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New information: This ordinance was grandfathered. It's a neighborhood within Sherman, Tx. The homes are over 100 years old. The location of the main is unknown. Mayor and city manager refuse to help homeowners. Possibly seek help from a historical society?
 
Lisa Willey MEd said:
New information: This ordinance was grandfathered. It's a neighborhood within Sherman, Tx. The homes are over 100 years old. The location of the main is unknown. Mayor and city manager refuse to help homeowners. Possibly seek help from a historical society?
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Sure, can't hurt. Try the news outlets as well.
Remember that you have no legal standing in this matter.

EDIT: Also, you are using the term "grandfathered" incorrectly. The ordinance was not grandfathered. The homes may have been, but that would take a thorough review of the matter by someone capable of interpreting statutes and understanding their relationship(s) to other statutes and other things about the matter.
 
Zigner said:
One might infer that you are not the right person to be doing this.
Perhaps an attorney is a better option?
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You're absolutely correct! I see fellow Americans (Nextdoor app) struggling with a major problem who don't know how to help themselves. Again, I believe the residents are low to moderate income level. Money is not something they have to run out and hire an attorney. City elected leaders and local news stations will not assist. Optimally, if I can put them in touch with someone knowledgeable and willing to help then I will bow out.
 
Lisa Willey MEd said:
You're absolutely correct! I see fellow Americans (Nextdoor app) struggling with a major problem who don't know how to help themselves. Again, I believe the residents are low to moderate income level. Money is not something they have to run out and hire an attorney. City elected leaders and local news stations will not assist. Optimally, if I can put them in touch with someone knowledgeable and willing to help then I will bow out.
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The problem is that, sometimes, what one sees as a "cause" is not, and is just something that we all need to deal with as members of society. Instead of trying to fight the system, your efforts may be better spent trying to help the homeowners raise the funds to pay for the necessary maintenance that is their responsibility.
 
The only recourse here will be to persuade the city council (or whomever makes the ordinances in the city) to change the law.
 

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