The Director of Public Utilities may establish Customer Assistance Programs to provide loans for private lead service line replacement, grants to assist qualifying low-income customers in paying water, sewer and storm water bills to avoid termination of service and qualified relief from accumulated arrearages on water, sewer and storm water bills to assist eligible low-income, senior citizen and disabled customers to avoid termination of service.
(a) The Department of Public Utilities may provide loans in an amount not to exceed $2,000 to Toledo residential water customers for the replacement of private lead service lines. Private lead service lines are the water pipes that run from the home to Toledo's curb box. The Director shall have the discretion to set or waive the collection of interest on such loans and establish the duration of the loan payments, which will be itemized on the utility bills, depending upon the needs of the customer. The program shall be operated on a first come first served basis, annually, while funds remain available. Applicants unable to be served in one year will be eligible for the next round of annual funding based on the date of application.
(b) Loans under the customer assistance program shall be treated in the same manner as utility rates and charges, and delinquencies shall be subject to all available collection practices including service turnoff, lien certification and assignment to a collection agency.
(c) The Director of Public Utilities may establish a low-income customer assistance grant program that provides a grant in an amount not to exceed $250 to qualifying Toledo residential water, sewer and storm water customers facing termination of service. The program shall be limited to single-metered consumers whose household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, based on income and size of household as established by the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Funding shall be provided no more than once every two years to qualified customers on a first-come first-served basis while funding allocated for this purpose remains available.
(d) (1) The Director of Public Utilities is authorized and directed to establish a temporary program providing qualified relief from accumulated arrearages to assist eligible low-income, senior citizen and disabled residential customers of the City's sewer system, water system [and][or] storm water system in avoiding termination of service and re-establishing regular, manageable and affordable monthly payment of the charges for the services and products of those Systems. The program shall be limited to single-metered customers who on October 1, 2021, had an account with the City's Department of Public Utilities with accumulated arrearages of more than $200 for sewer system, water system and storm water system charges (including any late payment fees, charges and penalties) and (i) whose household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, based on income and size of household, as established by the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or (ii) who are senior citizens whose household income is at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, based on income and size of household, as established by the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or (iii) who have been certified by a state or federal agency to have a permanent and total disability and whose household income is at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, based on income and size of household, as established by the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For purposes of this Section 933.10(d), "customer" means (i) the resident owner of a residential property receiving products or services of the City's sewer system, water system [and][or] storm water system and holding the applicable utility account or (ii) in the case of a single-metered residential rental property receiving products or services of the City's sewer system, water system [and][or] storm water system, the person (whether landlord or tenant) contractually responsible for payment of the applicable sewer system, water system [and][or] storm water system charges.
(2) The Director of Public Utilities shall establish a deadline not later than October 1, 2022 for the receipt of applications for participation in the program and prescribe the methods to be employed by the Department of Public Utilities for the processing of applications and the determination and confirmation of the eligibility and qualifications of applicants.
(3) Customers who are determined by the Department of Public Utilities to be eligible and have been qualified for participation in the program shall receive a notice of approval. If after receiving such a notice of approval, a program participant shall pay timely the applicable current charges for each monthly billing period shown on each subsequent bill for (i) the services of the City's sewer system, (ii) the services and products the City's water system and (iii) the services the City's storm water system, the participant shall receive, in addition to credit for payment of such current monthly charges, a qualified credit measured as follows: (i) for a participant whose arrearages on October 1, 2021 were $1,000 or less, a qualified credit equal to one-twelfth (1/12) of those arrearages and (ii) for a participant whose arrearages on October 1, 2021 were more than $1,000, a qualified credit of one twenty-fourth (1/24) of those arrearages; such that at the end of the applicable 12-month or 24-month period the participant's arrearages shall be deemed to have been forgiven; provided, however, that if a participant shall fail to comply with the requirements of the program at any time during the applicable 12-month or 24-month period, including by reason of non-payment or late payment of current monthly charges, the participant shall be removed from the program and all prior credits shall be rescinded such that the full amount of the participant's arrearages on October 1, 2021 shall be restored.
(4) While participating in the program, the arrearage shall not be subject to late payment charges, penalties, or other enforcement measures; provided that if participant shall be removed from the program and the prior credits rescinded, late payment charges, penalties, or other enforcement measures may resume as of the day of such removal.
(Ord. 217-99. Passed 4-13-99; Ord. 33-20. Passed 1-28-20; Ord. 211-21. Passed 5-25-21; Ord. 387-21. Passed 7-20-21.)