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Personal Biography
I'm a KCK resident near 18th and Central, with over 11 years at my job as a Property Administrator. I serve in the community helping feed the homeless and volunteering with the Libertarian party of KS. I am running for BPU At-Large because I want to give KCK residents more choices in utilities so they can get the best service possible.
Campaign Phone
(913) 850-9806
Education
BA from University of Missouri-Columbia
Community/Public Service
-Feeding and distributing supplies to area homeless camps through Free Hot Soup and KS Libertarian Action
-Volunteering with food distribution at Reola Grant Center.
-Serve as 3rd district Deputy Coordinator for Libertarian Party of Kansas
-Play violin and serve as Treasurer on board of Westwood Ensemble
-Co-leader of Kansas City chapter of Ladies of Liberty Alliance
The most important factor is that we have the PILOT fee removed from the bill and instead have that charged separately if it cannot be ended altogether. The PILOT is not serving the people, only making them poorer. No one should have something as basic to life as their electricity and water shut off due to non-payment of taxes or other fees not directly related to service. Also, we can stop putting everything on one bill so that people can prioritize what is most important to pay when money is tight. For instance, trash should not be on the bill with utilities; in fact, I believe KCK residents should be able to choose their trash removal vendor by commission district or neighborhood to improve service through increased competition. We can also start working toward opening our county to multiple utility companies so that BPU does not hold a monopoly on these services.
Most utilities that I am aware of, whether public or private require a deposit. I think BPU could do more to add flexibility to deposit requirements such as a donation program whereby rate payers can choose to round up their bill with the excess going to a charity account that can be used to help pay deposits for those who cannot afford them. I also think BPU needs to greatly adjust their policies on deposits as some are being charged inappropriately; for example, some rate payers taking over an account for an ailing parent or family member will be told they must pay ANOTHER deposit simply for changing the account to their name with no new connection required. This is another reason competition in our utility market is important so that BPU will be incentivized to make more just charges.
Board meetings needs to held in-person and more time for public comment given. There should be no special sessions held in private, unless those special sessions can be recorded and made public. ALL BPU meetings should be recorded and posted on YouTube either through UGTV or their own channel they create. Since KCK residents currently have no other choice in their utility company, anything less than 100% transparency is unacceptable.
In-person bill paying needs to be returned so that residents have the option to make complaints or discuss issues with their bill face to face. Also, bill paying policies need to be drastically re-evaluated. Rate payers should not be cut off for small balances and should received more notice before service cut-offs. Private utilities in other counties afford customers these common courtesies, so it is unacceptable for our public utility to not do the same.
While they are separate entities, they are also tied together. BPU manages itself but the UG holds ultimate authority over it in certain circumstances. This is why it is unacceptable when rate payers get the run-around asking questions about BPU to the UG or to BPU itself. Many times the UG commissioners will refer to you BPU to get your question answered or complaint addressed but when you inquire with BPU, they will refer you to the Unified Government. It seems neither entity wants the public to know what is going on and I am running to change that.
As long as we have a public utility that the people vote on and that also holds a monopoly on utility service, I am in favor of a policy that keeps those dependent on medical equipment from having services shut off. It is not fair to cut off service from those who have no other options, especially those who need constant access to electricity to survive. BPU could do more to work with those who have these medical needs to ensure their service can be maintained. Right now they have no incentive to add flexible pay options however, because they are the only game in town and we as residents are completely dependent on them for electricity and water, which is incredibly unfair.
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e.thePeople
e.thePeople