ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - The City of Alexandria’s mayor is supporting the city’s utility company, following a KALB report on frustrated residents speaking out against the utility service. Mayor Jacques Roy (D) spoke on a wide range of topics in his May 5 briefing, from recapping AlexRiverFete to addressing legislation that state lawmakers are discussing during the ongoing Regular Legislative Session. He also spoke about the Alexandria Utility Department, saying the department is “the best in the region” and urging people to stop “beating up the utility.” “We are constantly attacking a utility that is economically the best in the region,” said Mayor Roy. “I don’t understand why we’re doing that to the utility. It hurts it. It hurts its credibility as a utility.” In addressing the City of Alexandria, Mayor Roy said the Alexandria Utility Department is the city’s best weapon when dealing with blight, salary and attrition issues. If the department goes away, Mayor Roy said citizens will pay more than they currently pay for utilities. “I’m challenging everyone - come forward and show us we’re wrong,” Mayor Roy said. “Bring up your bill that was cut off for one or two pennies, and we’ll show that, usually, the case is, it may have been in one cycle off by that. But if you owe $1,000 in back-due failed payment plans, that’s a problem.” The mayor said he does not like the fact that utility bills are public, therefore making them public records. “If someone were to go pull the bills of the people in the story, their billing history, you’re gonna have your answer. KALB chose not to do that. I think they should,” the mayor said. “I think they shouldn’t have run the story until they do that, but I also don’t like the idea of doing that. It’s a kind of catch-22; if they’re going to run the story but not get the facts, then we get a little beat up by that. I would say don’t run the story till you confirm the facts.” “Our city wins a national award anywhere but here,” said Roy. “I think I suspect I know why, because we’re a public utility, and you have elected people over the utility, and people know they can go to you and hit you. People are hurting, by the way, and they’ve been hard hit by the economy.” Right now, Mayor Roy said he is in the process of writing a new city policy on public records. “I’m writing a policy right now to make it clear that regardless of any freedoms it gives for our friends in the media and otherwise, our policy will be if it’s not in process, that’s going to be our written policy; it’s a public record,” he said. “All we want to prohibit is if we’re in a resource plan, where we’re negotiating and have an RFP issue, and we’re grading it, someone can’t very smartly go ‘I’m gonna ask for a public record. I want to see all of what everybody’s saying right now,’ and go hedge against us, which you can do right now, not to any other utilities, but to us. That makes no sense. That’s a competitive disadvantage unintentionally created by the law, because we’re clearly intended to be included.” At the end of his briefing, Mayor Roy said he always has to look for ways to do better and is committed to doing that for the City of Alexandria.
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