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City utilities policy is too harsh


To the Editor:

After being gone about three and one-half weeks, I arrived home at 8:30 p.m. knowing I needed to unpack and do a thorough housecleaning by midnight — just three and one-half hours away. A friend was killed in an accident the day before and six people in her family were flying to Kansas City, driving to Marion with arrival around midnight, and planning to stay with me over the next few days for the funeral.

I began to unpack my truck and walked into an unbearably hot house. Even the usually cool basement was sweltering. None of the lights would turn on nor the water. In a state of shock I asked the neighbor to help find the trouble. It did not take him long to discover the electric box was removed and water turned off. A call to a City of Marion utility department serviceman determined I had not paid my bill that month and he said city policy is "everyone is treated alike" in disconnecting electricity and water if their payment is not received on time. I had been out of state and because my mail was still being held at the post office, I had not received or read the mailed notice of failure to pay on time.

I knew bills are sent on the first and must be paid by the 15th, a very short billing cycle. I later learned that a notice is then mailed out giving one more week or a total of 22 days before someone is sent out to disconnect utilities. I inquired as to the origin of this harsh policy and was surprised at what I learned. I was told two or three years ago city commissioners were faced with a $40,000 debt in the utilities department that had accumulated over some years and was 90 to 95 percent caused by renters who skipped town leaving utility bills unpaid. A very few homeowners had done the same.

After public hearings with landlords and other interested persons, city commissioners voted to change policy so now landlords must pay the utilities if their renter skips town, and all Marion residents would be treated like the deadbeats who skipped town and would have their utilities disconnected if the resident missed even one payment. Thus all residents would now be treated as deadbeats no matter if they had owned homes and lived in town forever and had NEVER missed a monthly utility payment.

My cost for being late for this one payment was more than monetary. It was disturbing to learn that friendly, small-town Marion treated its residents this way. I not only had to pay a $53.53 late penalty, I also was out over $60 to restock everything I had to throw out that had spoiled in my refrigerator and freezer after several days with no electricity and temperatures near 100 degrees.

I attempted to set up an automatic bank draft to assure my one-time forgetfulness would be corrected in the future, and I was told the utilities department does not have the estimated $1,500 to buy and set up automatic bank draft software. Even with all this I considered myself lucky that I did not forget to pay in mid-winter since under this policy in the past two years, the city has turned off electricity and water in cold weather causing pipes to burst of customers who did not pay a bill in the designated time frame. The utilities department also told me they are not liable for anyone's damages caused by the department disconnecting a resident's electricity.

Understandably, every customer this already has happened to has probably reacted as I did with shock and anger. Tragically, many do not speak up because they feel their lone voice will not be heard. I would be happy to hear from anyone who has had this experience of forgetting to pay a utility bill because of being on vacation, being elderly, having senior moments, or a medical problem and having their utilities unexpectedly disconnected. Please leave your name and number on my message machine (382-3220) and I will return your call. With your permission I will add your name to a list of residents who would like the city commissioners to reconsider their current policy.

Please realize my intent is not to criticize any particular commissioner or city utility worker. I know they work hard and often work overtime during storms and crises. My intent is to raise awareness about current policy that may be an over-reaction to an earlier policy that was too lax and negligently allowed the $40,000 in unpaid utility bills to accumulate over many years, primarily from renters who skipped town.

I called Hillsboro, Newton, and McPherson utility departments to get some information on other towns' policies regarding disconnecting a resident. I already knew large cities list a missed payment on their next month's bill thus giving more time to pay. All three cities above give their residents more time and payment options than Marion does.

For example, McPherson was very resident-friendly with a 26- or 27-day billing cycle. The utility company then gives a 10-day written notice followed by a phone call on the 11th day. The 12th day an employee is sent personally to speak to the resident to see if anything is wrong. As a final precaution before having a disconnect, they have on record an emergency contact each resident provided who the utility department can call and who will know the resident's situation. McPherson's policy is NOT to every disconnect the first or second time a bill is late if the person has a good payment record with them. They will not disconnect in winter EVER if the weather is under a certain temperature. They have a policy for habitual late payers.

Marion's motto of "the best place I've seen" is not supported by our current policy. This unreasonable disconnect policy needs to be changed so Marion residents are not unduly punished financially for making a one-time error.

Kay Navrat

Marion

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