The list of 228 properties originally slated to lose their water by Oct. 1 because of outstanding water and sewer bills has been cut down to 43, according to officials.

Last month Mayor Matthew Ryan’s office announced that any property owners who owed the city of Binghamton more than $1,000 would have their water stopped if they had not started payment on the delinquent bills.

According to a statement by Andrew Block, director of community relations for the city of Binghamton, these shutoffs are part of a reform package introduced by Ryan last May.

The package is aimed at cutting down the more than $1.2 million in delinquent water and sewer bills that were rolled to 2008.

“The city encourages account holders to pay their water bills by the deadline,” Block stated in the press release. “The city also encourages tenants of properties on the shut-off list to contact their landlords as soon as possible.”

A letter released by Off Campus College (OCC) director David Husch on Sept. 22 stated that, according to the mayor’s office, once water service is terminated, state code demands that the property be deemed not fit for habitation.

“If deemed not fit for habitation, we are required by law to post condemnation notice and require all tenants to leave the premises within 24 hours,” Husch said in the letter.

According to Block, the city of Binghamton has been working with community agencies such as the Department of Social Services and the Office of the Aging to minimize hardships residents will face from interruption of service.

“We’ve done everything possible to inform and educate our users about this procedure,” Ryan said in the statement. “While I’m pleased that the shut-off list has been reduced in recent weeks, several accounts remain, and we want to minimize the difficulties those users may face.”

An attorney from the OCC legal clinic was also available on Sept. 24 to answer students’ questions about the issue.

“The OCC legal clinic was prepared to have a more open discussion if we would have had several students in attendance due to this issue,” Husch said. “However, we only had a handful of students visit regarding the water shut-off issue and those students spoke privately with the attorney.”

According to the press release, the city released a final list of water and sewer accounts that have had no payment activity for two consecutive bills this week. The same process of service shut-off notification and shut-offs was then repeated.

“We know these are harsh economic times, when all our property owners are finding it difficult to make ends meet,” Block said. “We understand unpaid water bills are most often not the fault of tenants, but of delinquent landlords. We know that it would be a hardship for anyone to lose water service.”

“We empathize and we want to avoid water shut-offs at all costs,” he added

According to Block, the procedure has been implemented step-by-step and over many weeks, to ensure that word was spread and assistance was available.

It is not yet known if any of the residences on the final list are being used by students. However, Husch said that some properties on the previous list that were student apartments do not appear on the final list.

“I haven’t heard a thing, and that’s a good thing,” Husch, who requested that the mayor’s office contact him if there were any student residences on the final list, said. “As far as I know, that means none of them have been affected.”

Husch called it a “stay-tuned situation,” however, as properties that owe $800 may reach $1,000 and keep the process going.

For people whose residences remain on the list, Block recommended talking to landlords as soon as possible or contacting him at City Hall with remaining questions.