Mayor’s office cites city records in $228,000 water bill case, but won’t release them

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The ongoing dispute over a $228,000 community water bill tied to a single Baltimore home has reached the city’s highest office, with Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration weighing in publicly for the first time.

In a statement to FOX45 News, the mayor’s office acknowledged that the Springwood Estates Homeowners Association is legally responsible for paying the community’s outstanding water debt. However, the statement also points to the homeowner, Kristina Moore’s late father, as a possible factor in how the debt accumulated.

“The City’s records indicate that the late owner of the property in question, which houses the master meter, was also the individual previously responsible for the HOA,” the Mayor’s office said, “Therefore, there is an outstanding question of what the late homeowner did with the funds from the payments made by other residents in the neighborhood if they were not applied to the outstanding water bill.”

In response, Moore and her realtor, Lisa Ciofani, say they have been asking the city for months to provide documentation supporting those claims.

“I spent hours on the phone with DPW. Nobody will give me bills when they’re telling me my property is being held liable for this whole bill,” Moore said.

“You’re holding her accountable, but you can’t set us down at a table with who you’re talking to to say why you keep giving this burden to her,” Ciofani adds.

FOX45 has also filed a Maryland Public Information Act request with the Baltimore Department of Public Works seeking the account records referenced by the mayor’s office. So far, DPW has declined to release those records, saying the account information is confidential.

According to Moore, her father did serve on the HOA at one point, but stepped down years ago, when she says the community water account was still paid in full.

FOX45 has also attempted to speak with HOA President Regina Johnson, who neighbors say is the only remaining board member. However, Johnson did not answer her door and has not returned repeated phone calls or emails seeking comment.

Meanwhile, FOX45 continues to press City Council President Zeke Cohen’s office for answers. His office says it is in discussions with DPW and has asked for several days to respond.

Councilwoman Danielle McCray, who represents the district where Moore lives, also says she is communicating with DPW but has declined FOX45’s requests for an on-camera interview.