Dear editor,
During this trying time for most Americans, our city leaders are still up to their money-grabbing ways.
When they just put into effect extra charges for using debit or credit cards to pay your utility bill online, over the phone, or even in-person, this forces some to leave their homes to avoid the extra charge at a time when we’re asked to stay at home.
Today, most people use their debit cards as cash, especially the elderly and disabled who usually have very limited incomes anyway.
The city has stated that it will not shut off your utilities on your shut-off date if you have any remaining balance. But what they have done is leave a notice on your front door notifying you that you will be charged an extra $25 fee.
That policy is going to be forcing our elderly and those with weakened immune systems to leave their homes (almost all get paid the first and third week of each month) in order to save the extra money from those fees.
For many that $25 and\or the extra 3% convenience fee can make a big difference in whether they eat the last week of the month. For a city that’s spent thousands of dollars on trash can holders, decorative lamp posts, and flowerbeds (just to name a few items) these extra fees are unnecessary, especially with the current situation. With most of my children (and so many more) on the frontlines fighting this epidemic, keeping people at home should be a highest priority, not the wallet of our city.
Sincerely,
Daniel Stephens,
Iola, Kansas
