Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: APRIL 19, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
FROM: JEFFREY W. COLLIER, ACTING CITY MANAGER
PREPARED BY: MEG MCWADE, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
ELLIS CHANG, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
RAMONA CASTANEDA, REVENUE MANAGER
JULIO ORTEGA, UTILITY SERVICES SUPERVISOR
SUBJECT: CALIFORNIA LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLD WATER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM – DIRECT PAYMENT AGREEMENT WITH HORNE LLP
SUMMARY
Consideration of a Direct Payment Agreement with Horne LLP to facilitate City’s participation in the California Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) for low-income residential utility customers.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute Direct Pay Agreement with Horne LLP and sign all documents related to the California Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).
BUDGET POLICY PRIORITY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Budget Policy Priority Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
No matching funds required. The LIHWAP will provide financial relief to qualifying utility customers, up to $2,000 per customer. A California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) selected third party local service provider will receive, review and approve and/or qualify utility customer applications. Commercial customers are not eligible for the program. The City will receive the approved customer credits and apply them directly to customer’s accounts.
DISCUSSION
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for many Californians to pay their bills due to job loss and other hardships. As part of the state’s efforts to help Californians recover from the pandemic, the CSD offers a LIHWAP to ensure low-income households have access to safe and clean drinking water and wastewater services.
The following summarizes the LIHWAP’s benefits:
A $2,000 maximum one-time credit on a first-come, first serve basis Approved credit applied to drinking water or wastewater service costs (the customer selects which bill to apply the credit) Credit amount can cover a past due balance, current charges and fees (including late charges) The program strives to restore services and/or prevent service disconnection.
Low-income households may participate in this program. The program defines low-income as 60% of the State Median Income (currently $98,644 for a family of four) or current recipient of CalFresh / CalWorks / LIHEAP State programs. The customer must provide proof of a past due amount on a utility bill. The customer can apply the funding to direct water, sewer and sanitation (stormwater) charges, up to $2,000 per customer. The program ends on August 31, 2023.
A CSD identified Local Service Provider (LSP) will administer the program at a local level via a network of 41 non-profit and local government agencies. The LSP will:
coordinate marketing and outreach
conduct application intake and eligibility verification identify credit amount
submit the request to CSD to process payment to the City.
In summary, low-income utility customers can apply directly to the program via the LSP. The LSP will submit qualifying applications to CSD to process payment and customer record information and forward to Horne LLP. Horne LLP will then send payment and customer record information to the City’s Utility Services to process the credit to each approved customer account. The city must approve the attached Direct Payment Agreement by April 30, 2022 to enable Fullerton residents to apply for this program and facilitate the payment process to the City.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Direct Payment Agreement
LIHWAP Direct Payment Agreement with Horne LLP
April 19, 2022 - Page 2