Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
File #: 2024-205    Version: 1 Name:
Type: Policy Status: Approved
In control: Financial Services
On agenda: 10/16/2024 Final action: 10/16/2024
Title: Approval of Amendments to City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability.
Indexes: Finance Committee
Attachments: 1. 500-CS-Lifeline Policy - v.4 - 10-2024 - to BOWC, 2. BOWC Presentation on Lifeline Amendments 10-16-2024 V2
Title
Approval of Amendments to City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability.

Body
Agenda of October 16, 2024
Item No.: 2024-205
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 Amendments to Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's Lifeline Plan for Water Affordability
MOTION
Upon recommendation of Director, Gary A Brown, Chief Financial Officer, Istakur Rahman, and Chief of Staff/Chief Customer Service Officer, Matthew Phillips, the Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department hereby approves amendments to the 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
DWSD must update the Lifeline Policy to make corrections and clarifications regarding recertification and how household occupant water payment assistance will be applied to the account holder's account. Certain amendments are substantive changes to the policy and merit Board approval-indicated in bold font. The specific changes are as follows:

Section 2.2: Amended to remove the reference to LIHWAP, which is no longer available.

Section 3. Definitions: Added the definition of Payment Plan to refer to EasyPay or its equivalent.

Section 6.1.1.: Corrected grammatical redundancy.

Section 6.5.1.: Clarified to state that arrearages upon first enrollment, only, are forgiven.

Section 6.5.2.: Corrected language to comport with the intended use of water payment assistance resources; and removed Section 6.5.2.1, which is unnecessary.

Section 6.5.3.: Corrected grammar.


Section 6.8.: This new section allows household occupants eligible for water payment assistance to apply their benefits to a customer/account holder's gap payment and/or arrearages so the cus...

Click here for full text