Jeffrey Williams, St. Joseph
The City of St. Joseph has been disconnecting citizens’ water unconstitutionally without due process, using City Ordinance 401.12 to do so. This ordinance states the city can “discontinue service of any or all customers of the water system without notice.” I’m defending the citizens of St. Joseph’s rights to due process. U.S. Constitutional Amendment 5 states “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. . . ” Amendment 14 states similarly. Due process for this is laid out by MN Statute 325E.021, which states “A public utility as defined by section 216B.02, a municipality . . . shall, if that utility adopts a policy of imposing a charge or fee upon delinquent residential and farm accounts, provide that each billing shall clearly state the terms and conditions of any penalty . . .” The city has not disclosed any possibility of disconnection on water bills in the past. City Administrator Judy Weyrens oversees and directs all day-to-day operations of the city and, in my opinion, has violated the city’s Code of Conduct in Ordinance 209.
Weyrens’ misconduct is shown in her four-page denial letter to my family and copied to all city-council members in response to our one-page refund-request letter. Her letter is constructed with defamatory statements about my family; evidence of her withholding bills and disconnection letters; manipulation of my family’s words; and the manipulation of the MN Statute 325E.021 to be in her favor. To my knowledge, the statute 325E.021 hasn’t been discussed with the city’s attorney. Weyrens’ unethical and defamatory denial letter should have only been a couple of sentences, not four pages. In my opinion, she is getting “personal gain” of being valued as the city administrator by increasing the city’s water budget through reconnection fees. She is doing this because the city council has implied an increase in the water budget is needed, even after their recent water-rate hikes.
Speak at the city-council meetings and request the hearing on Weyrens in accordance with Ordinance 209 and demand the city follow the laws.
