Full Notification

A Letter from City Administration: “Patrick”
WE HEAR YOU!
The mayor and a couple of Aldermen have communicated heavily with me from Friday, to early this morning (virtually, and in person). What a distraction for city business today. What should have been a simple “update” to an outdated water contract - that previously left many ‘holes’ for some folks to hurt the city financially with unpaid debt and damage to equipment -this new contract was “rolled out” in a manner that when I saw it, I thought, “Wow. That looks a little scary.”
Let me clear up a few things. Had this accompanying letter with the contract, crossed my desk…I would have been emphasized the reasoning behind it to give you peace of mind.  This is just for starters. Ultimately, this is a responsible government’s ‘poorly implemented’ attempt to have you guys a newly signed an updated water contract sent back to us and in doing so, prevent the burden of non-payment falling back upon the city (for instance). If it falls on the city to pay someone’s bill, it falls essentially back on you…as you finance the city to operate. The city wants to be an ever better “steward” of your money and resources. As my old’ pappy used to tell me, “The path to hell is paved in good intentions”.  He wasn’t wrong. If my observations this weekend told me anything via reports from social media…. The new contract is being introduced is threatening, and someone jumped the gun a bit, and did not empower you PROPERLY with all the facts before throwing such ‘demanding’ statements and a new contract at you. Good intentions, meet bad roll-out. 
While I won’t ‘claim’ this one as mine, I still want to say on behalf of the City none-the-less, “I am sorry.”  So, it was a terrible roll-out. Fine. If mistakes were a paying job, I would be a millionaire. What is next?  Hold tight.
Quite a bit is being looked at right now. The Board is proactively scrutinizing things a little closer and not taking it for granted that certain liberties were taken or some other mistake that caused an outroar, where this should have been a simple renewing of your ‘existing’ agreement with some updated necessities to match the times.
To sum up the changes it was essentially,

• If you own a home…your existing contract is the same…what you paid for the deposit is the same…we ask nothing of you and you simply return the paperwork to us, signed, so we have updated phone numbers and stuff like. The contract is otherwise the same but renewed. ZERO ADDDITIONAL COSTS
• If you are a renter…then, as homeowner, you must sign the water contract AND the tenant must sign the contract. Why? Repeatedly, the tenant moves out…the landlord never signed the contract for service, so he or she was never obligated to it…and the city would eat tens of thousands of dollars.
• The stuff on the dogs and cats? I don’t know where that came from, but one thing is for certain, it is NOT TO SEE WHAT ANIMALS YOU HAVE. From my standpoint on running the day-to-day operations with empowerment of the Mayor and Board; I frankly don’t need another job, like keeping track of your animals. The “intent” is one of mere safely for the times a meter needs attention like maintenance or reading. Being aware of whether someone’s dog is perhaps aggressive, the worker would be empowered with that knowledge and call ahead (for example).

Long of short, if you all had simply been given a proper back story on why you were receiving this paperwork, instead of presuming you were already aware of it and frankly I felt it was worded a little ‘abrupt’ for my taste. Regardless. I have said it all along. You all deserve better.
So, I am reaching out to tell you that you are going to get better. Don’t throw away the contracts you have. The contracts you have, while being re-examined legally as we speak, and reverifying coordination with the newly amended water ordinance; those contracts you have are likely still fine and dandy. There should be little change versus what you signed before. And you founders and early settled folks…. who got here with ten cents deposit…still don’t have to pay anymore.  😊
We are only wanting to update records and save the city’s money so unpaid accounts get paid and not thrown upon the taxpayer anymore.  Too bad this wasn’t explained a little like this to begin with. We wouldn’t have such an issue like now.
What I am going to ask of you is to please give me a week (or less). The Mayor and the Board are on top of the concerns presented and want to make this process a simple and beneficial for the city at large, (again…as it was intended to be).  Just hold those contracts and we will talk again. Ok?
😊
Patrick Hunter
Patrick Hunter
City Clerk, Merriam Woods, MO