Delaware mayor vetoes bill blocking water shutoffs for seniors, residents with disabilities, and kids

A six-year effort to protect vulnerable residents in Wilmington, Delaware, from losing water service has been halted. 

Mayor John Carney vetoed legislation that would have blocked shutoffs for qualifying households with seniors, people with disabilities, and children under five.

What happened?

As WHYY reported, the proposal went through multiple revisions before City Council passed it July 10 by a 7-4 margin.

Introduced by Councilwoman Shané Darby, the ordinance would have limited the Wilmington Water Utility's ability to cut off service for low-income households with particularly at-risk residents. Eligibility was capped at incomes less than 350% of the federal poverty level — roughly $56,000 for one person and $115,000 for a family of four.

Carney defended the veto, saying the city must still be able to enforce collections.

"We cannot endorse a policy that creates an environment that incentivizes individuals not to pay for our public utilities through a system of user fees," he said in his veto statement, per WHYY. 

There are more than 4,000 overdue water accounts in Wilmington. Carney also noted that the city bans disconnections during extreme weather, on weekends, and during economic crises. 

Why is this concerning?

Supporters of Darby's bill have argued that shutoffs can quickly become a health and safety issue for households, especially when those affected include older adults, residents with disabilities, and very young children.

The debate also reflects a broader question many cities are confronting: how to keep critical infrastructure funded without pushing vulnerable residents further into crisis. 

"This is one piece of a larger water justice package," Darby said in a statement prior to the veto. "Every resident deserves access to safe, affordable water." 

What's being done?

In his veto statement, Mayor Carney argued that residents have several protections when it comes to water disconnections in Wilmington. 

The mayor also said ratepayers get six months of notice before service is disconnected, which he argued gives them time to deal with unpaid balances. In his statement, he said that the notice period helps the city resolve overdue accounts before a shutoff takes place.

"We do not target vulnerable residents, and we do not deploy disconnections arbitrarily," Carney said, per WHYY. 

The years-long push for the ordinance suggests the issue is unlikely to fade, especially as utility costs remain a pressure point for working families. Darby also noted the bill would have addressed "a gap" where families often had to go into debt before qualifying for assistance.

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