A "Secret Santa's" last-minute, $1,000 gift has kept 17 Goodyear households from losing water and trash service just before Christmas.

According to Goodyear, someone insisting on anonymity showed up at City Hall on Dec. 8 wanting to stave off the next day's scheduled utilities shutoff for as many residents as possible.

For at least one woman, the gift is making a real difference.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to 'Thank You' for paying my water bill," the woman wrote in an e-mail to the donor. "I really appreciate this very kind gesture. You put a huge smile on my face and I am able to pay other bills I need to at this time.

"Money at home is very tight and this has extremely helped me a lot," she wrote.

Goodyear spokeswoman Nora Fascenelli said one staffer reported that the generosity brought one woman to tears, but no other recipients were willing to speak publicly about the gift.

"Being in financial straits and about to have your water shut off is embarrassing, and the beneficiary might be hesitant to have his/her name or picture in the paper - especially if they have kids or relatives who don't necessarily know about their money troubles," Fascenelli said.

In order to help as many people as possible, city employees started with the accounts owing the least and worked their way through the $1,000.

Goodyear provides trash pickup to residents city-wide and water and sewer services south of Interstate 10.

Assuming three or four people live in each household, the city estimates 50 to 70 people benefited from the gift. Goodyear has dubbed the donor a "Secret Santa."

Accounts are shut off at two months past due. That means the recipients don't have to worry about having services cut off for at least two more months and avoid $100 in shutoff and activation fees.

Fascenelli said staffers checked for regular water usage to ensure the donor's gift went to people in need, rather than an empty home.

"When a home is not occupied, even if the sprinklers go on automatically, there's a hugely noticeable drop in consumption," Fascenelli said. "All those showers, dishwashing, toilet flushing and other indoor uses add up and are really conspicuous when there's no one home!"