La Unión Norte waives water arrears and fines in two hamlets

The Municipal Council of La Unión Norte, department of La Unión, approved a transitory ordinance that exempts families in the hamlets of Los Chivos and Los Pilones, El Sombrerito canton, from the payment of late fees, interest, and fines for the drinking water service, as they have been without supply for months. The measure is contained in Municipal Decree Number 3, published in the Official Gazette Volume No. 453 on October 6, 2026, with Registry No. F50435, and entered into force on October 7, one day after its publication.

The regulation is officially named the Transitory Ordinance for the Exemption of Payment of Late Fees and Fines Arising from Debt for Fees in Favor of the Municipality of La Unión Norte, generated by the Regulatory Ordinance for the Administration of the Drinking Water Service in the Urban and Rural Areas of the District of San José. The decree was signed in the Session Hall of the Municipal Mayor’s Office on August 27, 2026, by Mayor Edwin Antonio Serpas Ibarra and municipal secretary Oscar Osmin Quintanilla Coreas.

Five months of grace for affected taxpayers

Article 3 of the decree grants a five-month period, between August and December 2026, for fees and contributions not paid on time for the months of August, September, October, November, and December of that year. The text clarifies the possibility of rehabilitating the service before the projected date, in which case taxpayers must pay once the supply is being provided to them.

Article 4 delimits the beneficiaries: natural persons registered as taxpayers and beneficiaries of the drinking water supply in:

Hamlet Los Chivos, El Sombrerito canton, District of San José La Fuente.
Hamlet Los Pilones, El Sombrerito canton, District of San José La Fuente.

Only those who are without supply as a result of malfunctions in the pumping system and the low water level of the well that supplies the vital liquid to the population are covered.

The actual scope: accessories, not the fee

Article 2 specifies that the exemption does not apply to the tax itself, but to its accessories, namely, the fine and the late fee. The decree defines the late fee as the interest that the defaulting debtor must pay and the fine as the administrative sanction for failure to comply with tax obligations.

Article 5 establishes that everything not provided for in the ordinance shall be subject to the provisions of the Municipal Council of La Unión Norte, in accordance with its instructions via municipal agreement. Article 6 sets the entry into force for the day following its publication in the Official Gazette.

Regulatory background and foundation

The ordinance is based on articles 203 and 204 of the Constitution of the Republic, which recognize municipal autonomy and the power to create, modify, and suppress fees, and on article 7 of the General Municipal Tax Law. It also cites the final constitutional amparo ruling reference 812-99, dated June 26, 2003, from the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, which recognizes the authority of municipal councils to condone late interest through an ordinance.

The starting point is Municipal Decree Number 5 of 2005, which approved the Regulatory Ordinance for the Administration of the Drinking Water Service in the Urban and Rural Zones of the Municipality of San José, published in the Official Gazette Number 106, Volume Number 367, on June 9, 2005. According to the recitals, that regulatory body did not foresee the failure to provide the service due to damage to the supply equipment or low well levels.

The institutional framework is completed by the Special Law for Municipal Restructuring, issued via legislative decree No. 762 on June 13, 2023, and published in the Official Gazette No. 110, Volume No. 439, on June 14, 2023, which stipulated that as of May 1, 2024, the municipality of Villa San José becomes a district and integrates into the Municipality of La Unión Norte.

Impact for households without service

The ordinance seeks to avoid improper or excessive charges due to the lack of service and, at the same time, promote a payment culture that prevents the accumulation of arrears and fines, as well as legal actions against taxpayers. For the families of Los Chivos and Los Pilones, the relief to their domestic finances is immediate, although the debt for the service remains pending and must be paid once the pumping and the well return to normal operation.

Source: Official Gazette, Volume No. 453, October 6, 2026, Autonomous Institutions section – Municipal Mayoralties, pp. 12-13 (official reference: Registry No. F50435, Municipal Decree Number 3).