Iolans whose utilities are subject to be disconnected because of non-payment will have 15 days to get their accounts caught up once a state order prohibiting disconnections expires.
City Council members on Monday set the 15-day grace period following another extensive discussion on how many, and how severely, Iolans are behind adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order prohibiting utility shutoffs expires on Friday.
“Even though I sympathize with the situation, I don’t know if we’ll make it better by extending out the deadline,” City Councilman Carl Slaugh said.
In a memo to Council members prior the the meeting, Interim City Administrator Corey Schinstock said an average of 75 accounts would have been subject for disconnection in March and April, but have not been because of the state order. In 2019, the monthly average of shut-offs for non-payment was 23.
However, Council members were uncertain if the number was higher because customers were adversely affected by the pandemic-related economic shutdown, or if they simply neglected to pay because of the state order banning disconnections.
“There are people who were truly affected by this, that maybe were laid off, furloughed, or had a restaurant,” Councilwoman Nancy Ford said. “How can we come up with some sort of screening or vetting process?
“Of those, how many were truly affected by COVID?” she continued. “And I don’t mean, my kids are home and I have to feed them more.” (Ford noted there are school programs available to offer free food for children through the week, even if they’re not students.)
“If somebody truly needs a payment plan because they lost their job — they lost their income — then is 10 or 15 days enough?” Ford asked.
The problem is determining the difference, Schinstock responded.
“I”m not sure you’re going to find a definitive answer,” he said. “It’s going to be a very hard line to draw.”
In reaching out to other communities, Schinstock said many were giving their customers a grace period to catch up on their bills before disconnections resume.
That led to part two of the discussion: How long of a grace period.
Council members Gene Myrick and Nickolas Kinder suggested 30 and 60 days, respectively.
“We meed to be as generous as possible in allowing people to get out of the hole,” Kinder said. “There are people who got buried.”
Councilman Ron Ballard noted the city has a policy in which customers can ask City Clerk Roxanne Hutton to extend their utility due dates, in case of emergency. Hutton has granted those requests on rare occasions, such as if a customer has a costly water leak.
