Why are local municipalities in the United States allowed to charge?
That is not the law everywhere in the US. - which leads to the first important point: property law varies greatly between jurisdictions. Without knowing your location, no one here can give you advice with absolute certainty. You should talk to a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction for a definitive answer. In some locations, utilities are obligations that remain with the land, much like property taxes do. If there is an outstanding utility bill, it should have been disclosed to you at the time of purchase. If not, you may have a claim against the seller for failing to disclose the debt. Unless there was an understanding at the time of sale that you would pay his utility bill, you should contact the seller and ask that it be paid. Have you attempted to contact the seller about it yet? If not, it may be a simple oversight that they will pay without objection, so I would start by contacting the seller and asking him to pay it. If that doesn't work, I would contact the real estate agent you used and ask if they can help. Your agent should at least be able to tell you whether the utility bill was disclosed at the time of sale.