To the editor:

When asked where home is,  I hold up my right hand and point to Dowagiac on that “map” and tell about all the great reasons for living here.

I’m proud of this city and of its mayor, council, city manager, boards and staff.
I know most of these folks by name.

I chose to raise my family here and am happy that my grandchildren call Dowagiac home, too.

I started my business in Dowagiac and it’s still here, operated by my son.

I agree with the management of this city about 90 percent of the time. Sometimes I don’t.
Currently there is an ordinance pending requiring payment of a $500 deposit in order to have city utility service! (Other cities charge approximately $100 to $150 deposit.)
Additionally, there could be a $120 deposit for gas utilities.

This ordinance would force the landlord to become responsible for payment of their tenants’ utility bills.

If responsibility for the utility bill is to be in the name of the new tenant, or if a tenant seeks to have electric service re-established after a cut off, the $500 fee would be charged.

Forcing renters to pay such a large deposit is unheard of elsewhere.

If the landlord agrees to be responsible (for the renters’ bill), the deposit would be less than half that.

Forcing landlords to pay for someone else’s utilities is unfair.

Unfortunately, we have many residents who are out of work or who find themselves in low-paying jobs.

Many Dowagiac families live in units where the rent is subsidized.

However, utility deposits and bills are NOT subsidized; $500 is a HUGE cost for a new resident or for a renter who would typically pay for first and last month’s rent plus a reasonable deposit to turn on utilities.

If one of those deposits is a whopping $500 for city utilities – in a few cases that could be almost twice their monthly rent and perhaps as much as five months electric bills – many families would have no choice except to move away.

The proposed ordinance is lengthy and there are many, many other details and issues to consider.

Many of them have already been made public.

Rather than restate many of those issues, let me just bring up two I feel are the most important:

1.) We all are aware of Dowagiac’s economic situation. The difference between an $80 to $230 deposit and a deposit of $500 is big enough to make new or current residents need to move outside of the city or to another city altogether.

Many folks have already moved out of Dowagiac, having lost their homes to foreclosure, their jobs to industry shutdown and/or to look for work elsewhere.

We want people to live here and shop here. We want to fill vacant storefronts and attract new business and industry as well as service and retail establishments.

Our city doesn’t need to lose any more residents, making it  more difficult for current businesses to stay in business and landlords to pay taxes on empty rental units.

2.)  MOST IMPORTANTLY:   We cannot afford to lose students from our schools!
Our Dowagiac school system now receives about $7,000 per child in state aid.

If the city is successful in implementing this $500 deposit -unaffordable for many single-parent or low-income families -and if ONLY 30 families – with only two children each -move away, our schools would lose $420,000 per year!

We know the City of Dowagiac is suffering and our city government has a difficult job running the city under the current economic conditions.

This proposed ordinance is the wrong way to find (or keep) dollars in city coffers.
Council members: Please vote no on this ordinance.

There are other ways.

We will help you find them and stand behind you in your efforts.

While we do not agree with this ordinance, we do thank you for the time you spend and all your efforts on behalf of the City of Dowagiac.

Polli M. Ryder
Dowagiac