The Mayor, The Plumber, and The Price Paid

Recently I was brought information from an elderly resident who found herself taken advantage of not only by a plumber but also, in effect, by the City of Falmouth through its highest elected representative.

Before I tell the full story I want to know something very simple. When did Mayor Sabrina Hazen decide she was also an inspector. When did she become qualified to roam through worksites judging the quality of work done by city employees in the water department. This is the same department she promised the public she would never supervise because her fiancé works there. Yet here she is. Inspecting. Approving. Wandering through jobs with the confidence of a certified expert she is not.

It was on one of these self appointed inspection trips that she met a woman in her mid seventies who needed a new water line from the street to her house. The mayor, confident in her opinion and anchored by her personal contacts, recommended a friend of hers. A plumber from Alexandria named Brandon Kouns.

What followed was a disaster.
Mr Kouns arrived with heavy equipment and tore the front yard to pieces. Not with a ditch witch. Not with a small controlled excavator. He ripped the yard open and then charged her five thousand dollars for the privilege. When the State Inspector later informed him that the line needed inspection he had to dig it up a second time. That alone raises a question that anyone with basic construction sense would ask. Why was a state inspection not considered or scheduled during the first attempt.

I have installed more than a few water lines in my life. When a sitting mayor gives a recommendation to an elderly resident it carries weight. It carries implied authority. It carries the appearance of an official stamp of approval. In this case it also carried the consequences of a woman being overcharged and left with a destroyed yard because she trusted the word of her elected official.

That was last year. This year brought a second blow.

The city replaced the power line from the street to this same woman’s home. There was no notice. No door knock. No letter. No courtesy. Nothing. She is retired and living on a fixed income. Her electric bills have always been predictable. One hundred fifty to two hundred dollars. As she put it herself she uses three lights and a television. That is it.

Since the line was replaced her bill has exploded.
Sixty percent increase.
The most recent bill is four hundred ninety two dollars.

She has called the city many times. Each time they tell her the same thing. It must be her fault. The burden is placed on the elderly resident to hire an electrician and pay out of pocket to find a problem she did not create and did not ask for. The city altered her service. The city never notified her. The city refuses to investigate. She is the one left holding the bill.

She told me plainly that if these rates continue she may have to consider moving. Imagine that. After a lifetime of work she believed she had earned a peaceful retirement. Instead she is losing sleep trying to figure out how to pay for a mistake that is not hers.

Now for the legal clarity.

Kentucky officials owe every resident a duty of care whenever they make recommendations that appear to carry the weight of office. They are not allowed to create the appearance of official endorsement for private contractors. They are not allowed to blur personal relationships with public authority. They are not allowed to intervene in operational matters where conflicts of interest are present. They are also required to provide notice and safe access when altering power or water service to a residence.

None of that happened here.

What happened instead is a pattern that has become far too familiar in Falmouth. A resident reached out for help. A mayor stepped into a role she should never have been in. A recommendation was made that resulted in financial harm. Then the city itself compounded the damage with work done without notice and a refusal to acknowledge responsibility when the consequences hit an elderly resident who can least afford it.

This is not a small issue. This is a breach of trust. This is a failure of duty. This is an example of why people in this county feel unprotected and unheard.

And this is exactly why silence is no longer an option.

****Correction:
Christian, the Mayor’s fiancé, oversees the wastewater treatment plant.

Water distribution was formerly overseen by Richard and is now overseen by Joe.

The Mayor also stated that the water issue described was a matter between the resident and the plumber she hired, and not a city responsibility.

The resident, however, maintains that the Mayor personally recommended the plumber involved. ****

Whisper One Out