SHAME ON WHITEWATER, WI!!
LT Joe Cull is in Afghanistan. He’s a Marine and he’s fighting for our country. About a month and a half ago, there was a sewer backup and it did $20K worth of damage to his home. The city of Whitewater, WI, is saying that they are not liable. According to this article, Kevin Brunner, the City Manager believes it’s out of their hands because the insurance company used by the city will look things over and determine if there will be a payout/reimbursement. All the while, LT Cull is off serving his country and he gets to come home to a huge repair bill.
I say we all sound off and let Kevin Brunner know that his city should step up, help pay for the repairs, and then the CITY can wait for reimbursement from the insurance company instead of LT Cull having to duke it out in some sort of Settlement Hell (and if you’ve ever dealt with an insurance company, you know exactly what I mean by that). Mr. Brunner can be reached at kbrunner@ci.whitewater.wi.us or by phone at 262-473-0500, EXT 200. Be polite, be firm, let him know that his “And doubly so for this poor guy who’s 5,000 miles away, defending us overseas” is a sad way to express his horror and that we all think he should step up and DO WHAT’S RIGHT!
Oh, and bless LT Cull’s heart for not using the fact that he’s deployed as a reason he should be taken care of. He wants accountability because that’s what we, as taxpayers, expect from our city government!!
By the way, I’ve already spoken to CJ about coordinating and contacting some charities to get the repairs paid for in the mean time, so no worries on that front. We’re on the ball!
UPDATE: Let me be clear, charities should NOT have to take care of this. The city of Whitewater should be SOLELY responsible for the cost and prompt repair of LT Cull’s home. I have emailed Kevin Brunner and he responded thusly:
Our community is currently raising funds to assist Lt. Cull with his expenses. A number of service groups as well as individuals have come forward to offer financial assistance. Once a fund has been established I will send you more information in case you too would like to contribute.
UNACCEPTABLE. Absolutely unacceptable.
UPDATE II:The most recent email response:
We are working to help Lt. Cull in every way possible. Our insurance carrier will not pay the claim so our Common Council will be considering direct financial assistance to Lt. Cull.
Keep up the emails and pressure, folks! It’s making a difference.
Marc Slis
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 amDone.
CJ
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:44 pmI got the following response from Mr. Brunner:
Mr. Grisham-I greatly appreciate your e-mail. We are working to help Lt. Cull in every way possible. Our insurance carrier will not pay the claim so our Common Council will be considering direct financial assistance to Lt. Cull. Many others in the community want to help as well.
I couldn’t agree with you more that this should not be a burden at all on Lt. Cull and I am sure that the situation will be resolved, hopefully, before he returns from service in Afghanistan later this year.
Thank you again.