To Mayor Ronnie Williams from The Citizens of Natchitoches:
Have you been listening to your City? There has been a continuous outcry from your Citizens the last six (6) months.
WHY ARE MY ELECTRICAL RATES GOING UP, AGAIN!?
Now, we have found that not only are our electrical rates increasing, but our water, sewage and garbage rates as well!
Many citizens were willing to accept the first increase in May of 2023. They bought into your narrative that due to inflation and the needs of the city, rates had to rise. However, discovering that they will be taxed once again, another 15%, just four days from now, totaling 30% in a year’s time, is a bitter pill to swallow.
It’s worth noting that during one of your City Council meetings, a City Engineer advised you that a second rate increase was unnecessary. The needs for which the increase(s) were implemented had already been fully met with the first increase. Despite this advice, you vehemently insisted on proceeding with the planned second increase.
We ask again, WHY ARE MY ELECTRICAL RATES GOING UP, A SECOND TIME!?
This situation only serves to suggest that there’s an undisclosed agenda at play, one that hasn’t been openly shared with us. Transparency has been lacking in this regard, leading us to suspect the existence of a hidden agenda.
Could part of this agenda or “pet project” be the relocation of Public Works? A purchase of a building around $500k with renovations costing upwards of $1.2M! How does this truly benefit the entire City of Natchitoches? You raise concerns about the expenditure of your predecessor on the construction of Parc Natchitoches, yet fail to acknowledge its status as a valuable city asset, generating continuous revenue for local businesses. What justification is there for nearly $2M spent on relocating our Public Works, and how does it enhance revenue for Natchitoches?
Respectfully, Mayor Williams, when we elected you into office, we “HAD A DREAM”. We envisioned a future of prosperity under your leadership. We believed in your vision, supported your growth, and understood that you were new to the position but held hope for what you could achieve. However, as our small businesses continue to close and we edge towards an unsustainable future, we struggle to remain positive. Despite our efforts to understand, we feel unheard and lacking in empathy from you regarding the burdens placed on our households and businesses. There have been no provisions made to assist low-income and poverty-level citizens who have nothing left to give, only further anxiety with another rate increase.
Throughout your entire campaign, all we’ve heard is a deflection of responsibility onto your predecessors. There have been no apologies, no sensitivity, and no empathy. We’ve been waiting, hoping.
We have awakened from our dream state. We do not deserve your agenda. You have taxed us without a clear purpose and continue to do so without our permission. We have realized that the City of Natchitoches, as a whole, cannot sustain this kind of wasteful spending, nor can its citizens. You had the opportunity to acknowledge that this second rate increase was unnecessary. You and you alone could have stopped it. Yet, here we are, four days before the next increase.… and
You are a day late and a ‘sorry’ short. We will take our vote elsewhere, to a place we can have hope again and get our City back on track to the future WE DREAM OF, free from agendas that don’t include our best interests.
Sincerely written on behalf of the low-income and poverty-level Citizens of Natchitoches.
Harold Bayonne
A man unwavering in his love and empathy for his fellow citizens and cherished hometown of Natchitoches. A man steadfast in his commitment to uphold what is right over what is wrong
