PORT HADLOCK — Jefferson County Public Utility District commissioners are still working out the final details on a program to help low-income residents of Jefferson County.
According to PUD Commissioner Kenneth Collins, he and his colleagues will vote to implement the new program at their meeting at 5 p.m. March 7 at the PUD Administration Building, 230 Chimacum Road, Port Hadlock.
Collins said if the resolution passes, the program would be implemented in mid-March.
“That’s if it passes, but I’m pretty certain it will,” Collins said.
According to Collins, the PUD board discussed the program at length during its meeting Tuesday, which was also attended by Dale Wilson, executive director of Olympic Community Action Programs.
“It looks like we will be working with OlyCAP,” Collins said. “They will be verifying eligibility for the PUD.”
The resolution, as it is currently written, will be adding on to a 2013 resolution passed by the PUD board that established reduced water and electric rates for low-income seniors and low-income disabled citizens.
The new resolution would allow for any low-income resident of Jefferson County that qualifies for the program to be eligible for these reduced rates.
The new program will be based on household income at 125 percent of the federal poverty line. The new program will offer those who qualify up to $35 off their utility bills. According to Collins, OlyCAP will be responsible for helping the PUD decide the individual rates.
Low-income seniors and disabled citizens will automatically be rolled over into the new program, as will PUD customers who have been enrolled since July in OlyCAP’s Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
PUD commissioners are expected to take action on the program at next week’s meeting.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
