Town of Richlands,

It has repeatedly been brought to your attention about the horrendous prices you are charging for electricity/water/town services. Shea Cook sued you in 2010 and here we are 12 years later still facing the same issues and it has only gotten worse. The poor in our community are literally drowning in debt and are struggling to keep their lights and water on. Many are silently going without as they are used to people turning blind eyes and deaf ears. The current economic situation is making it hard for everyone to afford food & gas let alone your ridiculous prices.

Should citizens have to sit in cold houses with no electricity, no running water, no way to flush toilets, no way to cook and live like this because of YOUR greed? It was brought again to your attention in the last town meeting by attorney Shea Cook and dismissed  almost as quickly as it was mentioned— with the final word being you would look into comparison with AEP. How long should the citizens have to wait while you go home to nice houses with heat/water and electricity while some are going without? I’m sure it’s not a situation that needs rushed to you, but plenty of citizens are stressing everyday about these prices and it is affecting their health (mentally & physically) while also leaving them without if they do not find other means to pay their bill. 

It takes 5 seconds to look on Facebook and find posts about the ridiculous prices you are charging and people having to move away from our already small community due to it. The people have spoken and you have turned deaf ears while sitting on what you think are thrones— but even Kings can be dethroned. We the people of this small, rural community are NOT responsible for past actions of people you’ve let run the town and we should NOT be punished for the increasing debt while you spend on silly things like health insurance for the council members, new vehicles for the town employees and whatever else that you have spent money on. Instead of focusing on new businesses maybe focus on YOUR citizens because who is going to frequent these businesses when this town becomes a ghost town? Do you think businesses want to come here and pay high prices as well? Just like in the last town meeting a local man asked about the ridiculous price for his wife’s local business and yet he received no answers and certainly no pity. 

Proposed Solutions:

1.) work with people who are already overdue on their electric/water bill (affordable payment plans)

2.) follow AEP pricing rate

3.) offer payment plans (even to those who have been past due as it is better to get some than to get none. It is easy for those who are already in poverty to fall behind with these ridiculous prices)

4) Quit looking down on those who can’t afford your prices or seeing them as uneducated (trust me they understand that they are paying more than what most AEP or other customers in other states are paying— social media allows price comparisons nowadays).