Furlough Means No Heat Relief For Dallas Family

It’s just as hot inside Jordan Kaiser's East Dallas house, as it is outside and the city's mandatory furlough has added another day with no relief.

The Kaiser's, who live on Bryan Parkway have been without electricity since Wednesday when a giant tree limb, weak from that wicked June storm, fell suddenly and split their power line.

”Oh it’s hot, it's way hot. Of all the times to lose power, when it's 100, 102, 107, it’s crazy,” said Kaiser,
a husband and father of three. “The Oncor guy said we need a permit before we can get it hooked back up.”

Kaiser said he got that permit Thursday morning but more than five days later, he and his family are still sweating and still waiting on an inspection.

“The city is not taking care of the basic needs of the citizens,” Kaiser said with a damp towel around his neck. “They are going out for these flashy things like bridges and convention center hotels, but they can’t have enough people to take care of the citizens.”
 

To the city's credit, Friday was a federal holiday and Monday was a mandatory furlough day. The city forced almost all employees to take an unpaid day off to try and ease Dallas’ record deficit.

“When the city allows us to wait five days to get our power turned back on, through no fault of our own, that's not right,” Kaiser said.
 

Monday was the first of two mandatory furlough days in the city of Dallas. The next is scheduled for Sept. 4. It’s estimated to save the city more than a million dollars.
Contact Us