Alexandria, LA (8/23/2023) – On Tuesday night, the Alexandria City Council voted no 4-2 on an ordinance that would have followed LPSC regulation and not allow disconnects for past due utility bills during a heat advisory. It’s unclear at the moment why or what happened, but Councilman Gary Johnson abstained from voting on a matter so critical for many in his district.
The ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Cynthia Perry was hoping to allow customers with past dues to continue having utilities because the temperature this summer has continually been 100 degrees or higher in some instances. The fact that the poorest districts in our community pay the highest electric bills cannot be lost in the process.
The districts where Council members Villard, Fowler, Felter, and Rubin live don’t have the same high utility low-income problems as the burden bearers of this city. They don’t have utility bills that are $500-1000 a month for the energy-inefficient homes as the districts with this issue. The people in their communities would create a mutiny if they consistently received those bills.
Since they don’t get those types of bills, then maybe it does not resonate as the victimization it really is.
I will say this again! The people with the lowest living wage and source of income pay some of the highest utility bills in this city!! That in itself is something that needs to be looked at when we vote the next time.
In a city where more than half live below the poverty line, the minority and well-off people decide our community’s outcome.
Times like this show why we must unite as a community and vote for those who will not cower away from the task of finding other ways to generate revenue for the city to pay its bills. Over 50% of how the city pays its bills and employees come from utility profits! 50%. When you consider utility rates fluctuate, but the profit margins stay the same, it’s clear the Administration and some council members are just fine and content with seeing the poorest parts of our community bear the biggest burden to support our community.
It is truly a tragedy that, for the last 20 years, it has gone on like this. We know you are supposed to pay your bills on time. We understand that. But when you know, you are already charging double and, in some cases, triple what the rates would be in other communities, allowing folks to keep service in 100-degree temps was the right thing to do by them.
Instead, we are exposing some of our citizens to heat stroke and possible death. It does not seem right morally, but morals with this administration and council have been missing for a while.
Kudos to Mrs. Perry and Councilman Washington for trying to stand up for the struggling people in their district. Councilman Johnson, we as a community are perplexed by your abstaining but hope you are putting your people first in everything you are doing and not letting pressure from the Mayor’s office influence you to put agenda over what’s right.
It is truly a sad day to be a citizen of Alexandria and to see that those in positions of power are more concerned about collecting money than saving lives.
Tragic!
Here is how the City Council voted:
Cynthia Perry – yes
Gary Johnson – abstained
Reddex Washington – yes
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Felter – no
Jim Villard – no
Lee Rubin – no
Chuck Fowler – no
