CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to the City Light and Seattle Public Utilities Departments; temporarily removing the charge of interest on delinquent utility consumption and utilization accounts; superseding several sections under Title 21 that authorize and require the collection of interest on delinquent utility consumption and utilization accounts; declaring an emergency; and establishing an immediate effective date; all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.
body
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization has announced novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is officially a global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on January 31, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency for COVID-19, beginning on January 27, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2020, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan proclaimed a civil emergency exists in the City of Seattle; and
WHEREAS, the Washington Governor has declared a state of emergency in response to new cases of COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 announced a ban on gatherings and events of more than 250 people in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties, and on March 16, 2020 tightened the ban to no more than 50 people among other efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 outbreak presents an extreme risk of person-to-person transmission of the virus and public health experts worldwide advise the best way to prevent a calamitous explosion of cases is to prevent infected people from coming in close contact with healthy ones; and
WHEREAS, while this practice of social distancing is critical in mitigating the rate of spread of the COVID-19 virus, it is having significant negative economic effects on the national and regional economy, in particular small businesse...
Click here for full text