Title
Approval of City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's pilot Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability.
Body
Agenda of June 28, 2022
Item No.: 22-0860
Amount: N/A
TO: The Honorable
Board of Water Commissioners
City of Detroit, Michigan
FROM: Gary A Brown, Director
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
RE: Approval of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's Pilot Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability
MOTION
Upon recommendation of Director, Gary A Brown, and Chief Financial Officer, Istakur Rahman, the Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department hereby approves the pilot Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability; and authorizes the Director to take all such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
The recent influx of temporary federal funding for a Low-Income Household Water Affordability Program (LIWHAP), an increase in funding for the Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP), Stantec's comprehensive rate study for Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), and implementation of upgrades to our billing system have converged and presented us with an unprecedented opportunity to initiate an historic pilot Lifeline Plan.
We will partner with leading community organizations on outreach and, we intend to partner with We the People of Detroit, Hydrate Detroit and others, to: 1) sign people up for the Lifeline Plan; 2) solicit feedback from residents on responsible changes that could be made, barriers, and other challenges; and 3) most importantly, develop a united strategy to obtain long-term funding for the Lifeline Plan. We will use the feedback to inform our process and potentially make adjustments to the plan in January 2023, mid-fiscal year.
The Lifeline Plan is an income-based plan with three tiers of capped payments. The City's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, extension of the moratorium on service interruptions for non-payment, ...
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