Water utility, churches helping county workers with bills

Area churches have come together to help unpaid county workers pay their water bills.

On Monday, several canopies had been set up across the parking lot at the Liberty Utilities office on State Street, and a growing crowd was gathering as the news continued to spread of the assistance that was being offered.

One of the organizers, the Rev. Kourtney Smith, pastor at Destiny Worship Center, said he made some calls after last Monday’s failed effort by the Jefferson County Quorum Court to get a budget passed for 2025.

The justices of the peace have failed on four separate occasions to pass a budget, leaving county workers unpaid since late December.

“It was time to step out of our silos,” Smith said.

“Each of the churches was doing something on their own, but we decided to all get together collectively, pool our resources and help as many as we could.”

Smith said there were 21 churches that had contributed to a fund, with the proceeds to be used to help county employees.

Those in need went through a brief vetting process to make sure they were employed by the county.

They also showed their water bills. At the end of the line was Smith, who provided the means to pay the bills, directing the employees to the Liberty office to finish the process.

The effort was in collaboration with Liberty, whose business and community development director, Lamont Davis, was working out the details between the churches and the people being helped.

“This is an immediate crisis,” said Davis, who is also a pastor, “and it gives us a great opportunity to collaborate as a city and community and as churches to help these individuals.”

Davis said that through the collaboration, Liberty was working with customers who have been put in a financial bind by the county’s budget impasse, allowing them to make partial payments, if necessary, to keep their water accounts in good standing.

Employees smiled as they made their way through the line and then were able to make their water bill payments.

Jeremy Gray, who works in one county department with about 10 others, said he was appreciative of the effort, adding that going without a paycheck for so long had been a struggle at timesw.

“I’m thankful the community came together to help out when there’s an issue like this,” he said.

Another person being helped who asked that her name not be used said she had applied for other work and hoped to be leaving her county job soon.

“This is ridiculous,” she said.

“I never missed a paycheck at my previous job. We are just the little people, caught in the middle.”

Davis said the assistance might continue in other ways, such as helping county employees put gas in their vehicles.

“We could possibly go further with this,” he said.

Smith said the group would stay in the parking lot from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Early on, they had seen about a dozen people come through the line, and they expected more during the lunch hour, noting that even though people aren’t getting paid, many are still showing up for work.

“Whatever is left over,” Smith said, referring to the money the churches had raised for the effort, “even if the governor passes the bill, people are still going to be in need as they rebound from this, so we’re working on some ideas of what to do next.”

Smith was referring to a bill that has been introduced in the legislature that would speed up the process through which the county’s employees would be paid.

Specifically, the bill states that if a quorum court can’t pass a budget for the new year, the county would continue to operate based on the previous year’s budget.

On Monday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she supported the bill and would sign it when it reaches her desk.