Cities provide cost cuts for Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clay Murray
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Several of the towns surrounding the base have generously instituted a mechanism to help our airmen deal with the costs associated with deployments and maintaining households during long times away from home .

A plan known as the Utility Abatement Program offers a means of saving money on services that the cities charge for. The program, available in many local cities, includes discounts on water, sewer, garbage and storm water services while residents are gone on military duty.

"The program is coordinated through the cities that have reduced fees," said Lt. Col. Frederick Thaden, 75th Mission Support Squadron commander. "The rates vary depending on the city. Some offer 50 percent off and others are free. Sometimes there is a specific dollar amount discount. On top of that, the time that the rate applies can vary from a portion of the trip to the entire time the member is deployed."

Lt. Col. James Durant III, Ogden Air Logistics Center deputy staff judge advocate and 75th Air Base Wing staff judge advocate, has witnessed the program firsthand and thinks highly of it.

"The Utility Abatement Program is definitely beneficial for our Airmen," said Colonel Durant "Anything that will save our troops money on an individual basis is a good program. Airmen who have taken part in it will agree. I talked to an Airman who only had to pay $120, and that was all; whatever her bill was in the past, it didn't matter."

Airmen from all walks of the Air Force are eligible for the rate. In fact, many of the cities have utility abatements for all branches of the services. Ultimately, it all depends on the city the service member is living in, said Colonel Durant. Some cities have stated that it's only for Reservists who might be called to active-duty status, and others offer it for Guardsmen. Still others offer it for all categories, Active, Guard and Reserve. Every city has its own rules and it's not consistent.

"The city of residency is not the only catch," Colonel Durant said. "Another factor is that Airmen are not entitled to the discount automatically. They will have to speak to the billing department or the city for the rate. It isn't a free gift to Airmen."

Word of the discount has not been widely circulated to Airmen, said Colonel Durant. So far it's been something relayed between Airmen by word of mouth. In the future, during pre-deployment processing, a listing of cities providing the utility abatement will be provided to our airmen. Additionally, Airmen can get the listing from the UDM's.

For questions about the Utility Abatement Program, contact the Airmen and Family Readiness Center at 777-4681 or local city or billing department.