In a bid to win over DWP customers disillusioned by some of the utility’s missteps in recent years, Mayor Eric Garcetti and utility officials laid out a proposed “bill of rights” Tuesday that calls for a minimum level of water and electricity service, shorter call wait times and fewer inaccurate bills.

During a news conference outside the Department of Water and Power’s downtown headquarters, Garcetti acknowledged the distrust felt by some members of the public toward the utility.

He pointed to the thousands of inflated and “erroneous” bills issued following a major overhaul of DWP’s billing system, and the more than half-hour-long call wait times that held up customers when they phoned-in to complain.

“It was a disaster quite simply for the customer, whether you are a business or a resident,” he said.

These and other controversies, such as intense scrutiny by those within and outside City Hall over the use of a funds by two obscure trusts tasked with improving labor relations between DWP management and employees, have also marred the relationship between the utility and its customers.

• RELATED STORY: LA City Council approves five years worth of DWP water and power increases

The solution to the DWP’s recent woes, Garcetti and other officials said, is the “Customer Bill of Rights,” which were printed on a yellowed paper rolled up to resemble an old-fashioned parchment scroll.

The bill of rights is also available on a website at http://www.ladwp.com/customerbillofrights.

Despite the effort, the bill of rights quickly drew criticism from Garcetti’s foes, including an opponent in the mayoral race, Mitchell Schwartz, who called the list of pledges “a complete waste of the paper that it was written on.”

• RELATED STORY: LA mayoral candidate Mitchell Schwartz issues 3-point plan to reform the DWP

Schwartz said he was a consultant for DWP from 1999 to 2003 on “green power programs” such as wind power. Even back then, “it was just an unpopular utility,” and it has not changed since, he said.

Jack Humphreville, president of DWP Advocacy Committee, said he was not impressed by the promises made in the bill of rights and said representatives of the community were not consulted.

“From my perspective, this is stuff that should have been done a long time ago,” he said.

Garcetti said he is aiming to get the bill of rights approved by the DWP board and the City Council by Feb. 1. The proposal came before the board Tuesday, but it was continued because the presiding chair person said two absent board members should have a chance to weigh in, according to a spokesperson for the DWP.

The bill of rights lays out “philosophies” for customer, power and water service, and lists a total of 19 promises in those areas, include committing to quicker response to complaints of water quality, and allowing no more than one unplanned power outage on average for customers.

To ensure that the utility is held to those pledges, customers could be entitled to rebates ranging from $10 to $25 if mistakes are made, with Garcetti saying, ‘if we don’t deliver, that’s on us, not on you.”

For instance, a DWP customer who receives a bill that is charging three times more than what is actually owed, would receive a $25 credit, Garcetti said.