NIXA, Mo. — A resident warned Nixa City Council on Monday that utility disconnections and penalty fees are rising and urged the city to adopt written protections for medically vulnerable customers and a longer grace period before shutoffs.

Brian Cubic, who identified himself as a veteran and Nixa resident, told the council that Nixa Utilities disconnected 133 households in April 2025 — a monthly high — and that 469 disconnections occurred from January through July 2025, surpassing totals from 2023. “When a public utility loses sight of its obligation to serve the people and instead operates with a profit‑first, people‑last mindset, the damage to community trust is real and dangerous,” Cubic said.

Cubic asked the council to pass a resolution requiring a minimum 15‑day disconnect grace period (he said the city’s current policy allows only a 10‑day period), hold a public hearing with Nixa Utilities leadership about shutoff procedures, commission an independent audit of fee structures and shutoff data, and establish a citizen oversight board to monitor utility ethics and policies.

Mayor Jared Giddens responded that he and staff — including City Clerk/Finance staff and Councilmember Robbins — are reviewing possible changes to billing and automatic withdrawal practices and are “looking into what we can change and making something a little more concrete, especially on the automatic withdrawals.” He told Cubic the city typically makes exceptions for customers with medical needs if they call and work with the utility and said staff is transitioning utility billing systems, which has complicated immediate fixes but that the city will continue to review policies.

The council did not take formal action during the meeting; Cubic and the mayor were invited to continue discussions and the mayor encouraged the resident to follow up by email. No written policy change or resolution was proposed at the meeting.

Ending: Staff follow‑up was promised: city officials said they would continue to evaluate shutoff policies, consider more concrete written protections and keep Cubic and the public informed of any proposed ordinance or policy changes.