Opinion. The facts below are sourced to local reporting. The take is ours.
Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 was the day the City of Russellville had set to cut water and sewer service to Robinwood Park Apartments. It didn’t happen. How close it came says a lot.
The facts
- The city posted notices dated Sept. 25 at 260 Highland Lick Road saying service would be shut off Oct. 5 unless the landlord paid in full. The complex lists 81 units.
- The landlord is about $80,000 behind, according to an open records request reported by the News-Democrat & Leader.
- One water meter serves every unit, and the landlord is the legally responsible party, per WBKO.
- Mayor Mark Stratton paused the shutoff, saying the residents “are not at fault in this situation.” The city has since given a 90-day window. WBKO calls it an extension; the Franklin Favorite says the mayor pledged 90 days’ notice before any future shutoff.
- Residents say they have kept paying rent. At a Kentucky Tenant Union press conference, tenants also described mold and health problems. Tenant Patricia Morgan says she has waited on repairs since 2020 and described mold, cracking walls and damaged floors.
The take
Shutting off water to a whole building to pressure a landlord punishes the wrong people. The tenants say they paid. The owner didn’t. A shutoff lands on the families, not on the company that owes the money. A tenant union leader made the same point: cutting water for hundreds of people doesn’t help the city get paid and doesn’t pressure the landlord.
The mayor was right to pause it. But a 90-day window is a clock, not a fix. The water bill is also a symptom. When a landlord lets a utility account slide for months while tenants report mold and unfinished repairs, the bill is only the part the city could see.
The fair counterpoint
A city water utility isn’t a charity, and $80,000 is real money. Russellville says it worked to avoid a shutoff and failed to get the landlord to pay. Residents shouldn’t be put in this spot, and neither should the utility’s other customers. The answer still has to land on the owner, not the tenants.
The question nobody’s answered
What is the plan to collect from the property owner? We don’t know whether the city has pursued a lien, a lawsuit or other enforcement, and we’ll update this piece if that becomes clear. The tenant union is also asking the city to hold a council meeting and work directly with residents before any future shutoff.
Should a city ever cut water to tenants over a landlord’s unpaid bill? Tell us in the comments, and send this to anyone who rents in South Central Kentucky.
Sources
- WBKO: Kentucky Tenant Union hosts press conference on Russellville apartment water shutoff notice
- WNKY: Russellville tenants fight water shutoff over landlord’s unpaid bill
- WBKO: Kentucky Tenant Union to hold press conference over alleged apartment water shut off
- Franklin Favorite: Russellville mayor pauses water disconnection for Robinwood Apartments; Russellville water/sewer disconnection notice issued to Robinwood Apartments
Receipts over rhetoric. Published by TEG Report, a TEG Digital LLC publication.