OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Toledo Water Quality Committee Discusses HomeServe Marketing Partnership on February 13, 2026

City Council — Friday, February 13, 2026
BodyToledo, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, February 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 16:14

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Let's go ahead and get started.

0:05

So I'm going to call to order the water quality committee for Friday, February 13th, 2026.

0:10

Clerk, please call the roll.

0:13

Martinez.

0:14

Present.

0:14

Morris.

0:15

Colmives.

0:17

Kramer.

0:18

Williams.

0:19

Two present.

0:21

And President Williams did let me know that she would not be here.

0:25

And I do have some questions to read on the record on her behalf.

0:29

With that being said, Director, I will oh.

0:33

Mr.

0:34

Ronma, I will you have the floor.

0:36

All right.

0:37

Good afternoon.

0:38

Cindy Geronimo.

0:40

Commissioner of Utilities Administration from DPU.

0:43

And I have with me today, the director of DPU and Mike Chambers, who is he is the National Director for Business Solutions for NLC service line warranty program by Home Serve.

0:59

So he's prepared an executive summary, which he can review with you and answer any questions you may have.

1:06

So with that, I'll turn it over to Mike.

1:10

Really want to thank everyone for having me here today.

1:13

Appreciate having the opportunity to come and speak to you a little bit more about the home service service line program and how it can benefit your residents.

1:19

A little bit of a background on the programs.

1:21

We work with about 1,500 communities across the country.

1:29

But the reason these communities have gotten involved with this type of program is they understand you know infrastructure is getting older and order, especially when it comes to water and sewer lines.

1:37

And one of the big issues is while the cities are doing their part to maintain their main water and sewer lines in the street.

1:42

You have these miles and miles of lines that connect to your system that a lot of times they don't get any attention until there's an issue.

1:47

And that's those residents' lateral water and sewer lines.

1:50

And pretty much everywhere we go, we hear the same story.

1:53

Resident of a frozen water line, it breaks, or their sewer line collapses, or even you know, it just gets clogged with tree roots.

1:58

First thing they do is call the city.

2:00

You have to send out someone to take a look, make sure the main line is working properly.

2:04

And typically it is because you're doing the maintenance and the upkeep on it.

2:06

And that's when it puts you or your employees, you know, in the bad situation to where they have to be the bearer of bad news to the resident.

2:12

You know, Mr.

2:13

and Mrs.

2:13

Resident, we found the problem, it's your sewer line that's causing the issue.

2:17

And a lot of times residents become upset because they don't even realize they're responsible for these buried lines that run from their home to the main until you're there telling them that.

2:24

And then even the residents that do realize they're responsible, they don't have the five, six, seven thousand dollars it can cost to dig it up and replace it.

2:31

So that's kind of where our program comes in.

2:32

Uh first off, it's an educational program.

2:35

We'll do a free public awareness campaign to all the homeowners here in the community, just letting them know these lines are their responsibility, give them tips on what they can do to keep things working properly, don't put grease down your drains, that sort of thing.

2:45

And then also give them the opportunity to purchase a warranty that would cover them should something happen to their line.

2:50

Um the nice part for the city, it's a fully turnkey program.

2:53

We handle all the marketing, all the billing, all the customer service, all the claims.

2:57

Um there's no cost or anything to the city to participate, and then we will share a portion of all the revenue that's generated from the program back with the city.

3:04

Uh some of our partners will take that those re that funds that come back and set them aside, and maybe there's a low-income family that has a high water bill that can't afford to pay it, there's money for that.

3:14

Maybe they have a break and don't have our coverage, you know, there's money for that, or you can you know put it to a program that you're working on.

3:19

It's really up to the city, you know, how you want to use it.

3:23

Uh now the nice part for your residents is if the city does decide to participate, it's nothing that's forced on them.

3:28

It's just something that becomes available that should they want to cover themselves, then they can.

3:31

Uh, we always keep it completely optional because we understand that you know you might have newer sections of the community where it's not gonna benefit as much, but you know, the older ones are are the ones that are really gonna, you know, use use the program more.

3:42

Um we will make three products available to all your residents here.

3:45

Uh the first is the external water line coverage.

3:48

It's gonna cover their whole water line from where it enters the home all the way to the city's responsibility, whether that's the curb stop or the main.

3:54

Uh that'll cover leaking lines, broken lines, slow running lines, basically any disruption in their water service.

3:59

Um there's no deductible for your residents on that program, and there's also no service fees.

4:04

So residents can call out and we can come out and look at their line at any time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████77%
Public Utilities Management█████████████23%
Summary of Proceedings

Toledo Water Quality Committee Meeting Summary (February 13, 2026)

On Friday, February 13, 2026, the Toledo Water Quality Committee met to discuss Ordinance 038-26, which authorizes the Mayor to enter into a contract with HomeServe USA Corp. to market water and sewer line repair plans and leak adjustment insurance to Department of Public Utilities (DPU) customers. The meeting, held at 1:00 PM in City Council Chambers, included presentations, questions, and public testimony.

Attendance

  • Present: Adam Martinez (Chair), Nick Komives, Erin Kramer
  • Absent: Theresa Morris, Vanice Williams (Council President, but submitted questions read into the record)

Presentation by HomeServe

  • Cindy Geronimo, Commissioner of Utilities Administration from DPU, introduced the main presenter, Mike Chambers, National Director for Business Solutions for NLC Service Line Warranty Program by HomeServe.
  • Chambers explained that HomeServe partners with about 1,500 communities nationwide and has about 5 million enrolled customers. He emphasized that the program is educational, turnkey, and free for the city, with HomeServe handling all marketing, billing, customer service, and claims. The city receives a portion of the revenue generated, which can be directed toward community programs, such as assisting low-income families.
  • Three products were described:
    • External water line coverage: $4.99/month, covers from home to city responsibility (curb stop or main), includes leaks, breaks, slow-running lines, with no deductible or service fees.
    • External sewer line coverage: $8.99/month, covers from home to main, including full replacement, concrete repairs if needed, tree roots, clogs, and backups, with no deductible or service fees.
    • In-home plumbing and drainage: $11.99/month, covers indoor pipes, sink/toilet backups, and other indoor issues, with no deductible or service fees.
  • A 10% bundle discount is offered if residents take both water and sewer coverage.
  • HomeServe uses only local licensed contractors, has a 24/7 call center (Chattanooga, Tennessee), and reports a 4.8 out of 5-star customer satisfaction rating from claims surveys.
  • Direct mail letters are sent to homeowners; the city must approve all marketing materials before mailing. HomeServe does not sell or share customer data.

Committee Questions and Discussion

  • Councilmember Komives asked about cancellation policies: HomeServe stated there is no contract; residents can cancel at any time with a pro-rated refund if paid in advance. Payment options include monthly, quarterly, or yearly via credit/debit card or automatic withdrawal, but not through the water bill—kept separate to avoid confusion about responsibility.
  • Councilmember Kramer asked about concrete repair coverage: HomeServe confirmed that if a sidewalk is disrupted during a sewer line repair, it is covered.
  • Councilmember Sorrantu asked about common occurrences: HomeServe identified tree roots infiltrating sewer lines as the most common issue, followed by water line breaks due to freeze-thaw cycles in spring. Mailings are timed for spring to address these seasonal problems.
  • Council President Williams’s questions (read by Chair Martinez):
    • On data privacy: HomeServe confirmed they do not sell data; they use a secure share file for data transfer and can purchase their own list if needed.
    • On underwriting: HomeServe self-underwrites the policies.
    • On customer service location: HomeServe’s call center is in Chattanooga, Tennessee (stateside).
  • Councilmember Sorrantu asked about HomeServe’s experience in Ohio: HomeServe has worked with Dayton since 2012, Akron since 2015, Cleveland since 2014, and Columbus starting in October 2025.

Public Comments

No members of the public spoke during the public comment period.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee heard the presentation and discussion but took no formal vote during this meeting. The item (Ordinance 038-26) is expected to proceed to the full City Council for consideration.
  • The committee effectively advanced the proposal by addressing questions and gathering information, setting the stage for a council vote.

Meeting Transcript

Let's go ahead and get started. So I'm going to call to order the water quality committee for Friday, February 13th, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Martinez. Present. Morris. Colmives. Kramer. Williams. Two present. And President Williams did let me know that she would not be here. And I do have some questions to read on the record on her behalf. With that being said, Director, I will oh. Mr. Ronma, I will you have the floor. All right. Good afternoon. Cindy Geronimo. Commissioner of Utilities Administration from DPU. And I have with me today, the director of DPU and Mike Chambers, who is he is the National Director for Business Solutions for NLC service line warranty program by Home Serve. So he's prepared an executive summary, which he can review with you and answer any questions you may have. So with that, I'll turn it over to Mike. Really want to thank everyone for having me here today. Appreciate having the opportunity to come and speak to you a little bit more about the home service service line program and how it can benefit your residents. A little bit of a background on the programs. We work with about 1,500 communities across the country. But the reason these communities have gotten involved with this type of program is they understand you know infrastructure is getting older and order, especially when it comes to water and sewer lines. And one of the big issues is while the cities are doing their part to maintain their main water and sewer lines in the street. You have these miles and miles of lines that connect to your system that a lot of times they don't get any attention until there's an issue. And that's those residents' lateral water and sewer lines. And pretty much everywhere we go, we hear the same story. Resident of a frozen water line, it breaks, or their sewer line collapses, or even you know, it just gets clogged with tree roots. First thing they do is call the city. You have to send out someone to take a look, make sure the main line is working properly. And typically it is because you're doing the maintenance and the upkeep on it. And that's when it puts you or your employees, you know, in the bad situation to where they have to be the bearer of bad news to the resident. You know, Mr. and Mrs. Resident, we found the problem, it's your sewer line that's causing the issue. And a lot of times residents become upset because they don't even realize they're responsible for these buried lines that run from their home to the main until you're there telling them that. And then even the residents that do realize they're responsible, they don't have the five, six, seven thousand dollars it can cost to dig it up and replace it. So that's kind of where our program comes in. Uh first off, it's an educational program. We'll do a free public awareness campaign to all the homeowners here in the community, just letting them know these lines are their responsibility, give them tips on what they can do to keep things working properly, don't put grease down your drains, that sort of thing. And then also give them the opportunity to purchase a warranty that would cover them should something happen to their line. Um the nice part for the city, it's a fully turnkey program. We handle all the marketing, all the billing, all the customer service, all the claims. Um there's no cost or anything to the city to participate, and then we will share a portion of all the revenue that's generated from the program back with the city. Uh some of our partners will take that those re that funds that come back and set them aside, and maybe there's a low-income family that has a high water bill that can't afford to pay it, there's money for that. Maybe they have a break and don't have our coverage, you know, there's money for that, or you can you know put it to a program that you're working on.

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