The City of Toronto has refused to say whether Mayor Rob Ford paid utility bills for the Etobicoke crack house where he was photographed with three alleged gang members.

But a city official has confirmed that on Jan. 7, Chris Fickel, one of Ford’s special assistants, called the city’s water department on behalf of resident Fabio Basso regarding a sewage issue at 15 Windsor Rd., said Toronto Water manager Lou Di Gironimo.

The date lines up with an entry in a notebook found by detectives while they investigated the mayor and his friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi.

Comments in a police document released Thursday, used to obtain search warrants connected to Lisi, suggest a detective believed the notebook belonged to Ford or a staffer.

“One possible explanation for these entries could be that the Mayor is dealing with house maintenance and bill payment at 15 Windsor Rd.,” the detective writes in the document.

The detective writes that the notebook shows that its author seems to be dealing with water and other bills between Jan. 7 and March 20 of this year.

The bungalow at 15 Windsor Rd. is home to the Basso family, including Ford’s old friend Fabio Basso and his sister, convicted cocaine trafficker Elena Basso, who also, according to the police document, has a conviction for prostitution.

The house, where it is believed the video that appears to show Ford smoking crack was recorded, is also where Ford was photographed with three men: Anthony Smith, who was murdered in March, as well as Muhammad Khattak (wounded in the same incident) and Monir Kassim, both of whom were charged in the Project Traveller guns-and-gangs raids in June.

A city spokesperson said the Star would have to file a freedom of information request to obtain information related to discovering whether the mayor or anyone connected to the mayor was handling the bills.

Di Gironimo said the Jan. 7 call from Ford’s assistant was a “typical customer service call” over a resident’s water line.

“We have a lot of phone calls and emails from the mayor’s staff dealing with residents’ water issues,” said Di Gironimo, who estimated his office receives an average of one call a day from Ford’s staff.

One entry in the notebook recovered by police, dated Jan. 7, refers to contacting the water department for 15 Windsor Rd. The other, from March 20, “appears to be a list of bills outstanding for 15 Windsor Rd.”

In the Jan. 7 call, Ford’s assistant did not inquire about the Bassos’ bills, Di Gironimo said.

“From our records, there was no request regarding payment. It was only the sewage issue,” he said.

Di Gironimo’s division, Toronto Water, handles the operational side of water treatment and distribution. All payment matters are dealt with by revenue services.

A spokeswoman from that office said any information as to whether Mayor Ford paid any municipal bills for the Windsor Rd. home can only be released to the property owner or an authorized agent.

The unkempt brick home is owned by Fabio and Elena’s mother, Lina Basso.

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A woman who answered the phone there Monday refused to answer any questions, shouting a 10-second tirade before hanging up the phone.

“I don’t think we want to speak to the Star, especially after the bias and the lies that have been written about (Elena Johnson) and her family. You know what? We know good lawyers — listen to me — we know good lawyers and we will probably sue the Star. Goodbye,” she said.

The police document, released Thursday, that reveals contents of the notebook also refers to the bungalow as a “crack house” or “trap house,” another name for a house where crack, cocaine or other drugs can be found.

The document was used to obtain a search warrant for the home and car of Lisi, Ford’s friend and occasional driver. Lisi has been charged with drug trafficking and recently with extortion in connection with an alleged attempt to retrieve the video from the man who made it.

The court document describes 15 Windsor as a place that “belongs to a couple of crack heads but Dixon guys go there to ‘chop’ crack or just hang out and get drunk.”

“Dixon guys” refers to the men in the photograph with Ford, and others alleged by police to have been involved in gang activity.

The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for information about his connection with 15 Windsor Rd. and whether or not he paid any of the bills.

Court documents obtained by the Star do not state when the video was made. The person who tried to sell the video to the Star, as reported in May, said it was taken recently, “when snow was still on the ground.”

Read: The complete redacted police document released Thursday

Watch: Investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle, on the story so far