Iolans may get a break on past-due utility bills, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Council members Monday spoke in favor of waiving fees associated with utility reconnections for as long as the city remains under an executive order issued last week by Gov. Laura Kelly.
In the order, Kelly prohibited utility disconnections and evictions until her emergency declaration is lifted.
Council members had already endorsed a plan earlier this month to rewrite other ordinances affecting past-due bills.
Late fees, issued if a bill is not paid within 28 days of issuance, will drop from 5% to 2.5%, and residents whose utilities are disconnected will get a one-time pass on having the services restored once the bill is paid at no extra charge. Those whose utilities are disconnected multiple times in a year will be assessed subsequent $35 reconnection fees.
Those ordinances were ratified at Monday’s meeting, by votes of 6-1 and 7-0, respectively. Carl Slaugh cast the lone dissenting vote on the ordinance paring the late fee. Councilman Ron Ballard was absent.
Councilwoman Nancy Ford noted many Iolans are facing lean times amid the coronavirus-related economic slowdown, with many seeing their hours cut, or jobs furloughed altogether, in a matter of days. “People are going to struggle,” she said.
Instead of forcing those customers to come up with extra funds for reconnections, “we as a city can absorb that and just go on,” Ford said, “and chalk it up to a really weird moment in history.”
The city will keep track of how many Iolans may be forced to pay reconnection fees, Interim City Administrator Corey Schinstock said. He expects to bring the matter back before the Council for a final decision.
Councilman Steve French noted those who owed past-due bills and related fees prior to Kelly’s executive order still must pay those fines.
And Ford admonished the customers to still pay their bills; otherwise, they’ll owe even larger amounts when the executive order eventually is lifted.
Councilman Nickolas Kinder offered a message of support to city staffers noting residents who have complaints about city policies should take their concerns to the Council.
“The Council’s going to be doing the best it can,” he said. “Employees are doing the best they can. Don’t take it out on a trash person, don’t take it out on the utility office. It’s not their job to pass policy for the city. This is the governing body. This is the body that needs to address it.”
MONDAY’S meeting, while open to the public, had nobody in the audience (aside from a Register reporter.) The Council agreed to Mayor Jon Wells’s request to prohibit public comment during the meeting, and discouraged audience members from attending the meeting, due to the COVID-19 health concerns.
Monday’s meeting was recorded and will be broadcast on the city’s YouTube channel. Schinstock said the city is looking into whether the April 13 meeting can be live-streamed, if necessary.
IN OTHER coronavirus issues, Schinstock said he “has no doubt” protective measures, such as closing City Hall to the public, suspending all recreation activities (namely, youth soccer) and shuttering the community buildings, will be extended past April 1.
