Oregonian file photo

The Portland Water Bureau finally thinks it has a fix to a decades-long quest to make bill assistance more equitable.





By Molly Harbarger

The Oregonian | OregonLive



Portland water bureau officials think they have finally solved a brain teaser that has affected more than a thousand renters in Portland: How to help people living in apartment complexes afford their water bills, when those renters aren't individually billed for their water?



The City Council voiced approval for a $600,000 outlay to established community nonprofits that would allow renters to access funds already set aside to offset water and sewer utility bills.

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Thomas Boyd

Water and sewer utilities are managed by the city. For 20 years, low-income renters have had no help with those bills.



Renters in apartments and duplexes have been excluded from using that money for about 20 years. Multiple task forces and committees, commissioners' promises and media attention focused on the lack of equity for renters without producing answers.



But water bureau officials said Tuesday the solution is simple: Just give them cash.

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Thomas Boyd

Portland Water Bureau officials want to provide low-income renters with cash who need help with their water and sewer bills.





Portland's longstanding water bill assistance program gives homeowners and renters of single-family homes who make 60 percent or less of median income and who request financial help a almost $150 discount on each quarterly water and sewer bill. That's about 50 percent of a what a typical low-income household owes, according to a recent audit that pointed out the problem.



But apartment renters were out of luck because the city couldn't figure out how much they owe for water since most apartment buildings have a single water meter and the cost of water is rolled into the price of rent.

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Thomas Boyd

Portland Water Bureau officials want to provide low-income renters with cash who need help with their water and sewer bills.





There would no longer be a separate break on water bills just for those who rent or own single-family homes. In addition, the city would give the money to Multnomah County's Home Forward office.



Home Forward already distributes money to various nonprofits that help people with medical bills, a broken car, unexpected job loss or any other emergency pay their bills. The new water bureau funding would add to the pool of cash they could provide individuals in need.

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Thomas Boyd

Homeowners and people who rent single-family homes have been able to get a discount on their water bill if they met low-income guidelines, but not people who don't have individual water meters.





The solution wouldn't be broad enough to apply to any low-income family who asked for it. It would target only people on the verge of eviction -- about 1,200 in 2016.



"Our focus is going to be people who are, but for this program, going to be on the street," City Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the utility bureaus, said.

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Brent Wojahn

Homeowners and people who rent single-family homes have been able to get a discount on their water bill if they met low-income guidelines, but not people who don't have individual water meters.





The change to the program would be rolled into upcoming budget discussions, so the council could tweak the dollar amount for the program to make sure assistance is available to more or fewer people.



Fish said water bureau staff conceived the plan in concert with nonprofits and community organizations that work on housing and equity issues.



It would help solve the problem of equitable breaks for renters that City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly called "impossible" during Tuesday's work session.

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Thomas Boyd

Renters who live in apartments and duplexes would be eligible for $500 in water bill assistance if Portland City Council passes a new program in the upcoming budget.





The city's long-standing water bill assistance program is funded by all water ratepayers, to the tune of $4 million in 2015. That has meant that low-income renters subsidize bills of low-income homeowners, who are likely better-off yet can qualify for the $142 discounts.



The proposed change to include apartment residents comes at a time when more poor families are moving out of the city because they can't afford rent.



Portland renters are more than twice as likely to be poor as homeowners, according to a Portland State University study. Much of Portland's new and anticipated home development is multifamily, meaning that the number of renters is likely to increase.

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Thomas Boyd

Renters who live in apartments and duplexes would be eligible for $500 in water bill assistance if Portland City Council passes a new program in the upcoming budget.





In the past, city committees have suggested that renters of public housing could receive assistance covering the cost of water, at the least. That has still not happened.



The audit also found that the Water Bureau passively promotes the program to nearly all customers, rather than using data to target people most likely to need the subsidies.

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Thomas Boyd

An audit found that the Water Bureau passively promotes the program to nearly all customers, rather than using data to target people most likely to need the subsidies. <





Staff said they created a plan to do better at that, as well.



Right now, Portland uses the state's median income to determine who is eligible for bill assistance. But that is out of sync with the inflated cost of living in the state's biggest city. So, if City Council approves the package, a household of one would qualify if that person makes $31,380 or less.

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Thomas Boyd

An audit found that the Water Bureau passively promotes the program to nearly all customers, rather than using data to target people most likely to need the subsidies. <



To expand the program, Fish recommended the council fund two additional full-time employees. They would host trainings for community organizations and service providers, collect data about how the program is working and submit policy recommendations to change it as needed.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger

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