AgdaPkt 2021.02.22 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.K. - Page 2 of 5 Council meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution to extend the late penalty waiver for another six months, through February 2021, for residential and commercial customers due to the pandemic. ANALYSIS The COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive business closures and economic turmoil for Redwood City and the nation. While vaccines have begun to be distributed, deployment is slow and new virus variants are driving some forecasters to anticipate another surge in COVID-19 caseloads, rendering fiscal recovery difficult to predict. Redwood City's Water and Sewer Rate Assistance Program (WSRAP) enables qualifying utility rate payers receive a credit up to $80 on their utility bill. Applicants' gross household income must not exceed San Mateo County's 50% adjusted median income limits and they must receive a Redwood City utility bill in the applicant's name and currently reside at the address to which rate assistance is being requested. This can result in the unintended consequence of renters not qualifying for the program. There are currently 98 participants in the WSRAP, of which 49 accounts (50%) are current and 49 (50%) are delinquent. The program is continuously advertised on the Public Works main web page banner and the Water page banner. It has also been advertised through e -newsletters and social media. A utility bill insert advertising the program is being sent to customers in February, March and April of this year. A semi- permanent message has also been added to utility bill statements referring customers to www.redwoodcity.org/wsrap to apply for assistance. The majority of utility customers with accounts in arrears do not participate in WSRAP. As of January 31, 2021, the total amount overdue is $2,342,084 from 4,724 utility accounts in arrears, or 19% of 24,440 active accounts. Within that 19% of accounts, 39% are one month overdue, 19% are two months overdue, 15% are three months overdue, and 27% are 4 or more months overdue. An extension of the waiver of late payment penalties and interest for Redwood City utility customers would provide some predictable stability for those adversely affected by the economic impacts of the pandemic. FISCAL IMPACT Between April 2020 and January 2021, an average of approximately $22,150 in penalties and interest has been waived each month, or a total of approximately $221,540 in foregone revenue. (This calculation is approximate as it is calculated based on monthly overdue balances, whereas when charges are not waived they are assessed on a weekly basis.) If a similar average were to continue for the remainder of this calendar year, the City would forego approximately $221,500 in uncollected penalties and interest by waiving them for the next ten months. Late penalties and interest fund the WSRAP; therefore, the waiver of penalties and interest would eventually result in an absence of funds for this program to support low-income residents. However, the Page 2 of 3 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org 506