| Business owner Gary Gates has filed suit against the city of Rosenberg, claiming he has been subjected to an “unconstitutional tax” in the form of water bills that far exceed the minimum charge for a single connection.
Gates filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Judge Susan Lowery's Fort Bend County Court-at-Law No. 1.
In the suit, Gates notes he has owned the building located at 2205 Ave. I in Rosenberg since 1996.
The city charges a flat fee of $40.97 for all water usage of up to 2,000 gallons for utility connections with a one-inch pipe. Gates' building is connected by such a pipe, and he says he has never used more than 2,000 gallons of water in a single month.
Nevertheless, Gates said he has been charged eight times the flat fee every month, which city officials told him is based on their understanding that his building houses a total of eight tenants.
Multiple minimums
Gates in his lawsuit does not focus on the number of tenants in his building. Instead, he questions the validity of a section in Rosenberg's ordinances which requires that all families or tenants who share a single water connection be charged at least the minimum monthly rate.
“Although Rosenberg contends that it can lawfully charge multiples of the minimum monthly rate, it is unable to show that it renders any additional services or incurs any additional costs justifying its charging of multiples of the monthly minimum rate,” reads the lawsuit.
The suit states that Gates demanded a return of the multiples of charges he had paid over the years, but the city refused. That total exceeds $30,000, according to the suit.
Now, Gates contends the city's practice of charging him eight times over for a single water pipe amounts to a violation of Article 1, Section 3 of the Texas Constitution, known as the Equal Protection Clause, and Article 1, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution, which prohibits “excessive bail” and “excessive fines.”
Wants ‘excessive fees' back
Gates says he does not receive any greater service or present any greater burden to the city than single-tenant building owners, who would pay much less on their water bills.
“These excessive fees are charged and collected by Rosenberg for the sole purpose of raising its general revenue and are nothing more than an unconstitutional tax masquerading as water and sewage fees,” he said.
The lawsuit asks for a portion of Rosenberg's Code of Ordinances, Section 29-42, to be thrown out on the basis of violation the Texas and U.S. Constitutions, for the city to stop collecting multiples of the minimum water and sewer rates for single connections and for the backlog of “excessive” fees to be paid back to Gates.
The lawsuit was signed by attorney Robert G. Gibson Jr. of Rosenberg.
Rebecca Covell, a spokeswoman for the city of Rosenberg, said the city manager has not been formally served with the lawsuit.
“Obviously it would not be prudent to comment on anything. When and if we are served, our legal counsel will review the lawsuit, so we're reserving our comment at least until that time,” she said.
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