Councilmember Shané Darby brought the ordinance for a vote Thursday.
As long as Mayor John Carney approves it, the legislation will exempt the elderly, people with disabilities and residents with children under five years old from water service disconnection.
There are no water service shut-offs happening in Wilmington right now, but that’s not because the action is barred. Rather, the transition to the city’s new billing system has raised complications in its rollout.
“It's not that the Finance Department found it in their heart to say we're not going to do shutoffs in 2026,” Darby explained. “It was because of the system, and I just want to say, did we go bankrupt?... Someone said anyone can qualify for the water assistance program, and that's not true. There's a criteria, there is a threshold.”
Darby adds there’s an 80% default rate on payment plans and the city needs a more effective solution. City residents are also only given one chance to be on a payment plan.
This isn’t Darby’s first rodeo. She has tried to end water service disconnections for five years but has been repeatedly shot down.
“I don't think we should have water shut-offs at all, for anybody,” Darby said in an interview with Delaware Public Media in January. “But I know I have to move in baby steps with City Council.”
While the ordinance passed 7-5 with one absent at the July 9 meeting, it saw some resistance from five Councilmembers.
Councilmember James Spadola said there’s a lack of people actually affected by water shutoffs. He added the city has an unofficial policy where they bend over backwards to keep their utilities on.
“I think we create a bigger problem by memorializing this law,” Spadola said. “... We got to go after the commercial more so than anybody else. But the more we incentivize people not to pay for whatever reason, it's going to force us to raise rates even higher for everybody else.”
Four other Councilmembers voted against the ordinance, saying they’re not in favor of water shutoffs but want to see different solutions to make that happen.
The ordinance now depends on Mayor John Carney’s signoff.
