BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Jack Young announced that he was informed that the Ritz Carlton in Baltimore had not received a water bill since their meter was installed in 2007 – nearly 12 years ago.
The city estimates the outstanding water consumption bill to be about $2.3 million.
Young announced last week that an audit would be conducted of the city's water bill system and would "compare account records to real property records, compare development permits to water billing accounts, search for other billing irregularities and recommend improvements that will increase accuracy of the city’s water billing system."
In mid-October, Young was informed of the discrepancy with the Ritz Carlton water bills and stated he immediately tasked his executive team with investigating.
“I was outraged to learn of this major oversight in water billing as it relates to the Ritz Carlton,” said Young in a statement. “To think that previous administrations allowed residents’ properties to be sent to tax sale while not even billing the city’s wealthiest is absolutely shameful. Essential to good government is thoroughness in both audits and oversight and that clearly was not the case here.”
In a press conference held Wednesday, Young stated that he is committed to transparency and that the results of the audit will remain public
