About 3,000 Lacey utility customers are struggling to pay their bills, city manager says
Lacey City Council on Thursday voted to extend an emergency declaration tied to the pandemic that will continue to provide relief to residents and small businesses through 2021.
However, the council also could vote to end the declaration once a vaccine has been widely distributed and the end of the pandemic nears.
For the moment, though, the extension means the city will refrain from shutting off utilities or enforcing penalties and adding interest to customers who are behind on their payments. Small businesses will continue to have greater flexibility with signs and the city will not foreclose on those who have taken advantage of utility local improvement districts.
A ULID is a financing mechanism in which the city issues debt (a bond) on behalf of property owners seeking to make infrastructure improvements, finance director Troy Woo said Thursday.
City Manager Scott Spence told the council that about 3,000 postcards will be sent to residents who are struggling to pay their utility bills, reminding them to take advantage of federal funds the city made available through the Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties.
In October, the council authorized the city to spend more than $700,000 to help qualifying residents with their utility bills, rent, mortgages, childcare and other expenses. About $400,000 was earmarked for utility bills.
The funding isn’t coming directly from the city. Instead, it is a second round of federal CARES Act money that has been funneled through the state to the city.
The residents who seek assistance need to demonstrate they have been impacted by the pandemic, Woo said.
But the 3,000 customers struggling to pay their bills is clearly tied to the slower economy, he said. Before the pandemic, 10-12 percent of city utility bills were typically delinquent. Now, that percentage has grown to 15-17 percent, Woo said.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
