After walking back promise, Wyandotte County wants to study possible changes to BPU bills
After making an undelivered promise that has confused and upset some residents, Wyandotte County Administrator David Johnston on Thursday asked elected commissioners for two months to study a technical question concerning Board of Public Utilities bills.
The Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, is a nearly 12% service fee tacked on to residents' utility bills each month that goes toward funding services provided by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. At issue is whether the fee should be paid by individual customers or come out of the not-for-profit BPU's coffers, which are mostly filled by the utility bills its customers pay.
"There needs to be clarity in how this is done," Johnston said during a special meeting in City Hall on Thursday evening.
Earlier this year Johnston said the method by which BPU collects its fee does not appear to align with local law. After a more detailed review, Johnston wants policy direction from commissioners about potential updates to the Unified Government's charter.
In August, Johnston announced that the fee — a surcharge long detested by some community activists and customers, especially those on fixed incomes — would be removed from the bill by Oct. 1. But, as that deadline passed weeks ago, officials admitted they jumped the gun in leading residents to expect that outcome.
In any case, doing away with the monthly PILOT charge in the manner suggested would apparently not end customers' obligation to pay the money.
The Unified Government's budget next year relies on $37 million sourced from PILOT. Bill Johnson, the BPU's general manager, has essentially told Unified Government leaders the only way to raise the funds other than with the fee would be through a rate increase.
The Star reported earlier this month that the general manager had warned Unified Government officials in mid-September emails that a removal of the fee would be "unrealistic."
"It would take several months to accomplish this task. The complexity and extent of these changes would require time and additional resources," the general manager wrote in one letter addressed to Johnston, adding: "To accomplish removing the PILOT, another rate hearing would be required to embed the PILOT into the rates."
Commissioners — as well as elected officials on the BPU — have faced pressure from residents to reduce the costs of utility bills or separate the charges to avoid electricity and water shutoffs.
A review of the PILOT fee began early this year with a broader analysis of what separating the bill might look like. In addition to the PILOT fee, BPU bills also include charges for other Unified Government-provided services such as trash and wastewater. The review ended when the Unified Government said doing so could cost as much as $5 million more per year to establish a separate billing system.
Tension between the two governing bodies has risen in recent months over the direction from Unified Government administration to change how the PILOT is collected, a move BPU Board members have said they were caught off guard by.
During Thursday's meeting, which was attended by three elected BPU members, some commissioners pointed to a lack of communication between the two elected bodies as a problem that needs to be fixed.
"I would be pissed if I was on the BPU Board and this was happening to me," said Commissioner Mike Kane, 5th District.
Kane also raised concern over the magnitude of such a proposed change at a time when the BPU is seeking a new general manager. Johnson is set to leave the utility at the end of the year.
Commissioner Christian Ramirez, 3rd District, recommended establishing a mandatory joint meeting that would bring BPU members and Unified Government commissioners to the same table on a routine basis.
Meanwhile, Mayor Tyrone Garner, who called Thursday's special meeting, said he continues to worry about whether collecting the PILOT as a separate charge is legal. He suggested the matter may need to be reviewed by a court or the attorney general.
Garner also offered a public apology to residents confused or upset by the situation.
"You all deserve better. And to do better, we know better. And you have my commitment to work harder to do what is necessary to make sure that this doesn't happen again."
