[OKC] OKC water shut-offs

[Robert Waldrop]

I sent the following letter today to my city council representative.  I encourage others to send similar letters.  City email addresses are at http://www.okc.gov/council/index.html .

Bob Waldrop

    
Dear Councilwoman Simank,

I received a water cut-off notice in the mail yesterday.  In my particular case, it wasn't a big deal because it was an oversight on my part that the bill went unpaid, and I took care of it today.

However. . . 

The "Notice Date" printed on the notice is May 2, 2008.

The postmark on the envelope was May 5, 2008.

It arrived on May 6, 2008.

The notice says this must be taken care of "before" May 7th to avoid shut-off.

It seems to me that 24 hour notice is not enough.  I do a lot of work with low income people, the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House which I founded delivers food to hundreds of low income people who don't have transportation every month.  It seems likely to me that aside from the occasional dis-organized rate payer like me, most of these notices are going to low income people.

I understand the City needs to collect its bills, but I also think that the City can afford to give a real ten day notice to people in this situation, and the City should do this as a matter of social justice and public health.

My organization doesn't have the funds to help pay utility bills, we used to do that until the food need overwhelmed our bank account.  But we run into people all the time who also request water because their water is shut-off.  We try to connect these people with organizations that can help them, but as I am sure you are well aware, the need is greatly in excess of the actual supply of private charitable funds.

I'm sure that the situation with water is similar to that with electric and gas -- once the water is shut-off, additional fees apply and perhaps an increase in the deposit, all of which can prolong the time without water.

Increasing the misery of people in poverty does little social good, and in fact, I think the research shows it does a lot of social harm.  No running water means no running water to flush toilets, and that can become a serious public health hazard.

Establishing a real ten day notice period, similar to that used by the other utilities, isn't a complete answer to this problem, but it would be a start.  I encourage Oklaoma City to establish a real ten day notice period before water shut-offs.

Bob Waldrop
1524 NW 21
OKC, 73106
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