A Harvey church, its pastor and a resident filed a federal class action lawsuit accusing the city of fraudulently overcharging property owners for water by sending out inflated bills without reading meters.

The suit, filed March 27, claims the city of Harvey and top officials — including Mayor Christopher Clark, Public Works Superintendent Richard Seput and City Administrator Corean Davis — knowingly billed residents and businesses for estimated water use, often far above actual consumption. The lawsuit was filed by Holy Bible Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Johnathan Johnson and resident Deronda Powell. Attorney Robert Hanlon said they are seeking relief on behalf of all Harvey residents and property owners facing similar billing issues.

The complaint alleges the city engaged in an “overbilling scheme” by failing to read water meters and instead issuing inflated, estimated bills.

Hanlon, who is also representing several business owners in a separate federal lawsuit against the city over its refusal to grant business licenses to those with delinquent property taxes, said more than 40 people have approached him complaining of unusually high water bills, with some ranging from $300 to $600.

“When they go and they ask for explanations of this, they get a shoulder shrug,” Hanlon said. “And when they ask for information concerning their accounting and what the different readings are and how they come up with the readings, they don’t have answers that, you know, pass the smell test.”

City spokesperson Glenn Harston II said the city, as of Monday, had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment until it was reviewed with attorneys.

The lawsuit claims when the city’s water system was operated by a water reclamation district, the average water consumption bill for the Holy Bible Missionary Baptist Church ranged from $40 to $50 a month. After the city regained control of the water system more than two years ago, the church began receiving water bills in excess of $500 a month, according to the lawsuit.

Johnson said he began turning the water on and off using a key before and after Sunday services to conserve usage, estimating the toilets are flushed no more than a dozen times each week. Despite these efforts, he said the bills remained high.

“The toilets get used a couple of times per day at best,” Hanlon said. “They’re only open on Sundays and so literally, some of these bills have been upwards of $100 a flush.”

After questioning the charges, Johnson said the Water Department told him there might be a leak in the building, but couldn’t locate the water meter to verify usage.

“How are you reading the water meter and you don’t even know where it’s located?” he said.

When his meter was replaced with a new digital one — part of a city initiative funded by a $1.5 million grant to replace all old manual meters, according to a 2024 city newsletter — Johnson noticed it ran nonstop, which he was told indicated a leak. But after hiring multiple plumbers, no leaks were found, he said.

“It’s something faulty is going on with their meter, as well as maybe something on the city side that may be having this issue happen, but we’re paying the cost of it, and it’s unfair,” Johnson said.

Powell, who lives on 155th Street, noticed her bills spike in 2022, according to the lawsuit. When she contacted the city, she was told her meter was underground and would require a public works crew to dig it up to get a reading. According to the lawsuit, the city has made no attempt to excavate the meter in over two years, yet her high bills have continued.

According to the city’s website, meters are read and billed monthly, with late fees added on the 16th day after billing. Water bills also include charges for sewer maintenance and trash pickup, the website states.

But the lawsuit claims at a Feb. 10 City Council meeting, officials acknowledged the city does not read all meters and relies heavily on estimates.

Johnson said he has paid some of the church’s water bills out of his own pocket to keep the church afloat.

The pastor has been a vocal critic of the rising water bills at the church and has attended several City Council meetings to push back against an ordinance that requires churches to obtain business licenses.

In an interview with the Daily Southtown following a protest outside City Hall against water rates, fines and the withholding of business licenses in June, Clark said many churches in the city are in disrepair.

“It’s a very nominal fee so that we can conduct the inspection and make sure the place is safe,” Clark said. “If something went wrong and a roof collapsed in one of the one of those buildings, probably one of the first questions that would be asked wouldn’t have anything to do with the pastor who didn’t fix the roof. The question that would be asked is, did the city inspect it? Because it’s our job to make sure that we protect the health and safety and the welfare of the public at large within our city.”

Johnson contends the church has always undergone building code inspections by the city, but a business license was never a requirement. After receiving a license, Johnson said he ripped it in half at the City Council meeting.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to stop the city from billing residents without reading meters and to require that charges reflect actual water use, according to the lawsuit. They are also seeking full restitution and repayment of what the lawsuit describes as “ill-gotten profits” from the alleged overbilling.

smoilanen@chicagotribune.com