A report from Iowa’s largest utility companies shows thousands of households are behind on paying their power bills. A federal program provides protection from having the power shut off between November 1st and March 31st — so the deadline is Sunday. Jerry McKim, director of Iowa’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, says he’s concerned about those who are not part of the program.
“People do get shut off in the winter, the numbers drop way off, but starting April 1st, it comes on with a vengeance,” McKimm says. “Just to give you an idea, in February, there were 1,254 involuntary disconnections reported by the state’s regulated utilities.”

McKim says fewer people applied for assistance this year, so there are funds available in LIHEAP for those who qualify. Because the moratorium expires Sunday, it may not prevent disconnection, but the money can be applied to past due bills while a payment plan is negotiated. McKimm says it’s a myth that power won’t be disconnected in the winter and if that happens, residents are allowed to negotiate a reasonable payment plan. “This doesn’t matter whether you’re low-income or not, any residential customer has this protection,” he says. “If you haven’t had a payment agreement that you’ve broken in the last 12 months, the utility shall, not might, shall offer you a minimum of 12 months to pay off the past due balance, and that’s a minimum not a maximum 12 months.”

McKim says a report from utility companies statewide shows nearly 234-thousand households have delinquent accounts. Although the companies are required to work with customers, he says it’s up to the individuals to ask for help.

(Radio Iowa)

Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a man early this (Thursday) morning, who was wanted on three warrants. 39-year old Donavan Lucius Sands, of Red Oak, was arrested on two Montgomery County warrants for Failure to Pay Child Support, and on a Red Oak Police Dept. warrant for Theft in the 2nd degree. Sands was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $7,000 cash bond.

Officials at the Iowa Department of Revenue say Iowa should once again try to collect sales taxes from online retailers, now that Republicans have retained control of the U-S House and it’s unlikely to happen at the federal level. Iowa and other states lose millions of dollars in sales taxes from purchases made on the internet. Victoria Daniels at the Iowa Department of Revenue says late last year it looked like Congress was going to force the retailers to collect the state taxes nationwide.

” Probably the best shot to get something done at the federal level was during that lame duck session last year and it didn’t happen,” Daniels says. Republicans in the U-S House are backing a new bill that would exempt many sales from the tax. Daniels says that’s why Iowa needs to pass a bill in the Iowa House that allows the state to collect the taxes.  “It definitely makes federal legislation less of a save all, and we need to take matters into our own hands,” according to Daniels. Retailers from Walmart to small main street businesses support the effort, because, they say, internet sales have an unfair advantage over their brick and mortar stores. But some state representatives like Greg Forristal, a Republican from Macedonia, view it as a tax hike, so their bill would have any newly collected taxes go right back to taxpayers.

“In other words if we’re going to raise taxes let’s make sure it benefits the taxpayers,” Forristal says. The lone Democrat on the House panel objected, saying any new tax revenue should go for education and mental health and other priorities.

(Radio Iowa)