WCLO's Steve Benton reports on efforts in Rock County to find safe shelter for hundreds of people expected to lose their homes because they can't pay their utility bills.
JANESVILLE — About 200 people could lose their homes early next week after their landlord failed to pay utility bills on the buildings in which they live.
Local agencies are scrambling to prepare for a sudden influx of homelessness and might open an emergency shelter to accommodate the displaced people.
Alliant Energy plans to shut off power to about 99 units in 21 buildings starting today, said Marc Perry, Community Action director of planning and development. Most of the buildings are in Janesville, though some are in Milton and Edgerton.
The buildings belong to SD Properties, owned by Billy Kesselring. The company could not be reached for comment Friday morning.
Local agencies, including Community Action, ECHO, Edgerton Community Outreach and the Red Cross, met with Janesville and Rock County officials Wednesday and Thursday to create a plan for the displaced people.
Many of the tenants are low income and would struggle to find new apartments, officials said. Some have mental illnesses, substance abuse problems or criminal records. Many of the tenants are children.
In fact, one reason the landlord can't pay Alliant is that many of his tenants haven't been paying rent, said Billy Bob Grahn, county supervisor and director of the Red Road House shelter. The landlord is owed more than $100,000 in back rent, which is less than he owes Alliant, Perry said.
"He took in people no one else would take," Grahn said. "His heart was in the right place."
But now many families might find themselves with nowhere to go.
Tenants can't stay overnight in buildings without power because it's a health and safety hazard, said Jennifer Petruzzello, city neighborhood services director. They won't have running water, refrigeration or heat, and tenants might use unsafe methods to heat their homes if the nights get cold, she said.
The city will give residents orders to vacate their homes within a day or two of the power being shut off, said Kelly Lee, neighborhood development specialist. The tenants can return during the day and leave their belongings in the apartments, but they can't sleep there.
She expects the vacate orders to start going out Monday, she said.
The crisis couldn't come at a worse time for community agencies, which already are struggling to deal with increased needs because of the recession.
Area homeless shelters are full. Most agencies are running out of money for housing assistance and won't get new grants until July 1, Perry said. Federal stimulus money for housing assistance won't arrive until September.
Officials said they might try to work with Alliant or the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to buy time for tenants to find new situations.
Agencies first will focus on their clients and those tenants who are up-to-date on their rent, said Perry and Karen Lisser, ECHO executive director. They will try to find new apartments, emergency rent assistance and/or motel vouchers for those in need.
But the community has to care for the other tenants, too, Perry said.
The participants in Thursday's meeting hope to open an emergency shelter Monday, possibly at a church, staffed by volunteers. The city will extend liability insurance to the shelter if the property owners have property insurance, Petruzzello said.
But agencies have no idea how many people will need to use the shelter or what will happen to the tenants after the emergency shelter closes. They hope to know more by the time the crisis hits.
"It becomes very real for folks once the power gets shut off," Perry said. "It becomes real for us, too."
Power cutoffs are part of trend
The 200 people who might have to leave their homes because of unpaid utility bills could be the biggest local example in a rapidly growing problem.
On April 15, the moratorium on shutting off power for delinquent customers ended. Alliant Energy sent out 8,000 disconnect notices to single-family Rock County homes, said Marc Perry, Community Action director of planning and development.
Perry wasn't sure how that compares to past years, but he said a lot of families are falling behind on bills for the first time and don't know how to get assistance.
People can't live in homes without power because it is a health and safety hazard, said Jennifer Petruzzello, Janesville Neighborhood Services director.
But just because someone receives a disconnect notice does not mean he or she is out of options, said Steve Schultz, Alliant spokesman. People who receive notices should call 1-800-327-2708 immediately to set up a payment plan.
"As long as they're making a reasonable effort to get on a payment plan, then they're not going to be shut off," he said.
If you need help paying your bills, you can call United Way's First Call at (608) 752-3100 to learn about energy assistance options, Perry said.
Meanwhile, the state is seeing more and more landlords who don't pay utility bills in their names, said Billy Bob Grahn, Rock County supervisor. State officials told Grahn they're watching the case in Janesville, Edgerton and Milton right now as an example for what to do in the future, he said.
"Apparently this is becoming an everyday challenge," he said.