Garnett City Commissioners are discounting electric utility bills for some Garnett business electric customers, hoping to ease the financial strain from the COVID 19 shutdown, which has shut down many local business revenues. City Manager, Chris Weiner, says the qualifying businesses were identified by a joint committee of local Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Board Members and basically followed Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly’s, determination of non-essential businesses directed to close in order to enforce a public Stay At Home Order. The discount of 10% applies to the electric billing portion of those businesses’ commercial utility usages for bills which will arrive the first week in May. Weiner says City Commissioners also agreed to waive or credit all late payment fees. Restaurants were particularly hard hit by the Governor’s COVID 19 shutdown orders, which banned gatherings of 10 or more people. Some local restaurants closed altogether, for the past several weeks, during the emergency. Other businesses, which have remained open, have reported reductions of as much as 70% in revenues.
