CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to emergency assistance for low-income City Light Department and Seattle Public Utilities Department customers; amending Sections 21.49.042 and 21.76.065 of the Seattle Municipal Code to expand and align eligibility and assistance guidelines for emergency assistance programs.
body
WHEREAS, in December 1985, the Emergency Low-Income Assistance program (ELIA) was established by Ordinance 112637 to provide emergency, low-income assistance to certain customers of the City Light Department (SCL); and
WHEREAS, the Emergency Assistance Program (EAP) was established by Ordinance 122174 in 2006 to provide emergency assistance to certain low-income customers of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU); and
WHEREAS, there is a need to establish consistent eligibility and assistance guidelines across the various City energy assistance programs; and
WHEREAS, Sections 21.49.042 and 21.76.065 of the Seattle Municipal Code provide for a once-per-year emergency credit of 50 percent of an eligible customer's delinquent bills up to a maximum credit amount; and
WHEREAS, when a minor child lives in an eligible customer's household, EAP allows the customer to receive the emergency credit twice per calendar year; and
WHEREAS, ELIA is only available one time per 12-month period to families with children in the household; and
WHEREAS, the assistance available through ELIA is a fixed $200 per year and is not adjusted to reflect average rate changes in residential bills; and
WHEREAS, the assistance available through EAP is adjusted annually to reflect the average growth in bills for residential customers; and
WHEREAS, to be eligible for ELIA and EAP, total household income of all household members may not exceed 70 percent of the Washington State median income for the number of individuals living in the household; and
WHEREAS, SCL and SPU's June 2019 response to Statement of Legislative Intent 4...
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