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The City of Seattle
Ordinance
Council Bill
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An ordinance relating to emergency assistance for Seattle Public Utilities customers; amending Section 21.76.065 of the Seattle Municipal Code to adjust program terms and conditions and expand eligibility guidelines for emergency bill assistance.
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Recitals:
Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Section 21.76.065 establishes the Emergency Assistance Program (EAP) for low-income customers of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU).
SMC Section 21.76.065 determines an SPU customer is eligible for EAP if the total household income of all household members does not exceed 80 percent of the Washington State median income for the number of individuals living in the household.
SMC Section 21.76.065 provides twice as much emergency bill payment assistance to SPU customers who have minor children in the household than to customers without minors in the household.
SPU charges are more closely related to the number of people in a household than to the minor-status of those in the household.
Seattle is experiencing a severe and accelerating affordability crisis driven by skyrocketing housing, childcare, healthcare, and basic living costs.
The May 2026 response to Statement of Legislative Intent SPU-12S-A from SPU, Seattle City Light (SCL), and Seattle Department of Human Services (HSD) contains recommendations to expand access to emergency assistance by increasing income eligibility to 80 percent of area median income and to allow eligible households access to the maximum amount of credit regardless of household composition.
There is a need to establish consistent eligibility and assistance guidelines across the various City utility assistance programs.
The Mayor and City Council wish to expand access to emergency assistance to more customers who may be struggling to pay their utility bills and align the SCL and SPU programs. Therefore,...
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