Statements from city elected officials

The Salem News on July 7 emailed Salem City Administrator Ray Walden requesting information on utility billing issues that ran on thesalemnewsonline.com beginning Friday and appears on 1A of today’s print edition. Along with the request, sent to Walden, the mayor and all four aldermen, were invited to send statements pertaining to utility billing issues.

The following statements and a press release from Walden were received by The Salem News:

East Ward alderwoman, board president Kim Steelman (contact at eastward1@salemmo.com)

“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the citizens of Salem during this incredibly difficult transition. As an alderwoman and as a citizen myself I have shared in your frustration. However, I do believe we are finally on the other end of this. I am truly looking forward to reaping the benefits of this new system. Though it has been clouded by the seemingly never-ending issues, I truly do believe it will prove to be a great improvement to our community. I want us all, as a community, to be looking forward and begin to be able to focus again on all of the wonderful attributes of this small town we call home. Though I’m very hopeful that issues will be few and far between going forward, please don’t hesitate to reach out if something arises. Nine times out of 10 the staff at the utility office can get it resolved without further action from the board, but we are always available if such an issue does arise.

I would also like to thank the staff that have worked long hours, learned a brand new system in the middle of chaos, and endured countless hard days filled with angry and frustrated customers. This has been a mentally exhausting process for us all and I will never be able to show my appreciation enough for the fact that the employees stuck it out and remained dedicated during all of the turmoil, which they had no say in.”

East Ward alderman Shawn Bolerjack (contact at eastward2@salemmo.com)

“If you are struggling to pay your utility bill, it’s important that you contact the utility office immediately. Talk with them early enough so they can offer suggestions to eliminate late payment penalties and service disconnects, like creating payment arrangements or enrolling into Budget Billing, which allows you to pay the same amount each month. The city is doing more than ever to help, like giving customers extra time to pay overdue bills with the Board of Aldermen recently amending the payment plan policy and the city connecting customers to area agencies for financial assistance. It was previously reported that over 200 households have been assisted with $110,000 being spent. Please be patient with the utility office as they are handling an increase in calls and visits and assisting several customers at a time. It’s crucial that you contact them early enough with any questions or concerns about your utility bill, so they can have time to investigate, set up arrangements and keep your service on.”

West Ward alderman Kevin James (contact at westward2@salemmo.com)

“Over the past year and a half, the City has experienced challenges with the implementation of the new AMI meter upgrade project. As a final step of the original project, the monthly invoice timing has been brought up-to-date so that the most recent invoice is only approximately 15 days old. This step of the project was brought by the citizenry involved in the initial project decisions and should help explain the recent multi-month invoice. If you have already paid the multi-month bill, thank you for stretching your pocket book to place your account up-to-date. If you have already worked with the Utility Department to put together a plan to bring your account current, thank you for working with the department to do so. For those that may not be sure on what they should do as next steps in order to put their utility account into a payment plan, please reach out to the Utility Department at 573-729-4117 as soon as possible and they will help you. If you have questions about your bills or other issues, please setup an appointment with the Utility Department. I am hopeful that they will be able help you with your request; if they are unable, please email me and I will help facilitate your questions and next steps. Thank you to all citizens for your patience during this challenging time. I am hopeful that these challenges will soon be behind all of us and the City can focus on other important issues.

West Ward alderman Greg Parker (contact at westward1@salemmo.com)

“I won’t give a statement on the utilities at this time because Ray (in a press release) and (other aldermen) have covered most of the bases in regards to it.”