Letters to the Editor: Where’s the courtesty we expect from our City Hall?

I am writing this Letter to the Editor to inform Gallatin citizens and business owners of the City’s electricity shut-off policy, and hopefully to gain support in having this policy changed. 

On the morning of June 21, 2012 my husband (Jimmy O’Rourke) arrived at our business, O’Rourke Wellness Center, P.C., to find that we did not have any electricity.  After investigating the cause, he was informed by City Hall that we had not paid our last utility bill.  In order to get the electricity turned on, we would have to pay a $50 charge in addition to our bill and late fee.  Having never missed a payment in the nine years we have operated our business in Gallatin, we were shocked that our electricity would be turned off with no notice.  After looking through my files and checkbook, I discovered that I had no record of receiving our last utility bills (home or office), so that is why the bills had not been paid. In the past week I have spoken to other residents who have also failed to receive utility bills from the City in the past.

Subsequently, I called City Hall to speak with the city administrator, Zac Johnson, to address the issue.  Mr. Johnson informed me that it is the City’s policy to shut off the electricity of a person or business with no notice whatsoever if a bill goes unpaid.  Really?!?  This policy does not take into consideration a possible mistake on the part of the City or the Post Office in sending out bills.  Additionally, there will be times when responsible payers have family emergencies that distract them from a bill’s due date, or just plain forget to pay their bill.  Regardless of the cause of an unpaid bill, the City’s policy is unreasonable, and appears to be a way to gouge its citizens. 

Other utility providers in the area mail late notices and make phone calls before disconnecting services.   FEC mails out two disconnect notices to customers who have not paid their bill; if the bill has still not been paid, a phone call is made to the homeowner the night before a shut-off is scheduled.  Summit Natural Gas also mails out a disconnect notice to customers who have missed a payment, and makes several phone calls in the days prior to disconnecting a customer.  Bethany hangs a “door knocker” on residents doors that have overdue bills, and calls them if they are not repeat offenders.  Gilman Ciy mails out late notices the day after bills are due.  Hamilton, Jamesport and Pattonsburg do not sell electricity to their residents, but they do mail late notices, hang door knocker, and/or give phone calls to residents with overdue water bills.  These policies are reasonable and courteous.  Shouldn’t we expect the same from the city administration in our small town? 

By having our business’ electricity shut off with no notice, my husband was unable to see his scheduled patients that morning, and we will never know how many phone calls we missed (i.e. no working answering machine due to power being shut off) while waiting to get our electricity turned back on.  I often hear complaints from our patients that this city does nothing to attract businesses to the area.  The City’s current electricity shut-off policy certainly does nothing to entice businesses or citizens to move to, or remain in, the city limits of Gallatin. 

Mr. Johnson informed me City Hall does not know who will have their electricity shut off until 4:30 the day before.  Further, he advised me that City Hall does not keep track of who has a good payment history, they do not have time to call everyone on the shut-off list, and they do not play favorites by calling some people and not others.  I am not asking for the city to “play favorites.”  I am asking for the City to treat every citizen and business owner with consideration and respect.  But then Mr. Johnson informed me that Ms. Barnes did try to call us 40 minutes before our electricity was shut off…..at 7:50 that morning.  That was before business hours, and she did not leave a message.  Wouldn’t that phone call be considered playing favorites?  According to Ms. Barnes, she went to Mr.Johnson that morning after seeing our business was on the shut-off list.  She asked if she should attempt to reach us, and he responded by saying, “Do you want to call them?”  She said she thought she should, and made the 7:50 phone call.  So apparently city employees can decide who they do and do not want to call.  A friend of ours told us that when his wife was ill, they had forgotten to pay their utility bill and had a phone call from City Hall to remind them by the day after bills are due.  I guess they are on the favorites list.  I do not want the City to play favorites even if I am on that list.  Every bill payer deserves to receive a late notice in the mail if the bill is not paid by the 10^th.

If the City of Gallatin wants to operate in a professional business manner, then I suggest it finds a way to give late notices to its citizens.  Mr. Johnson says the City does not have the time or money to give this courtesy to its citizens; somehow neighboring towns are managing to do so.  Though I am sure there are a few different ways to solve this problem, I will suggest one.  The City controls when it runs reports of overdue payments.  This report should be run the day after bills are due.  With today’s technology, I have no doubt that late notices could automatically be generated and mailed to customers.  The cost of this notice (less than $1 each) could be added to each person’s bill if the City cannot manage to work it into its budget.  I would much rather pay $1 for a late notice than $50 to have my electricity turned back on!  If the City actually wants to be courteous to its citizens, someone at City Hall could make a phone call to each delinquent customer the morning before their electricity is to be shut off.  It would be up to each bill payer to ensure that City Hall has their current cell phone number on file.  A request for cell phone numbers could even be put on the bills.

While this has been a small inconvenience to us, it could have a greater impact on others, and that is what I hope to prevent.  What if this happens to an elderly person, ill person, or the mother of an infant on a 100 degree day (or a 10 degree day with two feet of snow on the ground)? They might not have access to transportation or money that day.  Is the City willing to risk people’s lives in lieu of sending out late notices?  What about someone who has had a family tragedy and forgets to pay a bill in the midst of all the chaos?  What if someone is on vacation and has all the food in their freezer ruined due to a mistaken shut-off?  I guess the City does not care.  We are all human.  Mistakes are made by everyone—city hall, the post office and bill payers.  What happened to the small town, good-neighbor attitude our City likes to boast about?

I would like our City’s administration to extend simple common courtesy to its citizens by changing its policy to align with other utility service providers in the area.  If you agree, please call City Hall at 663-2011, or your city council member, to make your opinion known.  Additionally, we will have a petition for Gallatin residents to sign at O’Rourke Wellness Center, P.C., 122 N Market St, on the Gallatin square. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this in its entirety.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Cindy O’Rourke, Gallatin