August 9, 2021
The City of Lawrence is now accepting donations for the new Utility Assistance Program. Approved by the Lawrence City Commission earlier this year, the Utility Assistance Program will be a resource to help Lawrence community members who are behind on City utility payments.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a problem with outstanding utility payments as it left some of our community members unable to keep up with bills due to lost employment, an inability to work, or other circumstances. To assist these households, the City halted utility shut-offs during the pandemic. While the City does not currently have a set date, once service disconnections resume, customers who have a delinquent balance for more than 22 days will be subject to utility shut offs. The City created the Utility Assistance Program to be a resource to these households.
The program is the first of its kind for the City of Lawrence and it will be completely community funded. City utility customers can opt-in to monthly donations by completing the online donation form. Participants will be able to choose the donation amount, which will be added to their monthly utility bills moving forward. Donations can be started and stopped at any time.
Currently, approximately 10% of the City’s residential customers are more than 22 days past due on utility payments, and the total outstanding balance is more than $1.7 million. Any contribution that you are able to provide is helpful. As an example, if half of all City utility customers donated $8 a month for a year, those donations would more than cover the current outstanding balance and help set up the Utility Assistance Program to continue into the future.
The Utility Assistance Program will be administered through a partnership between the City and Catholic Charities. Through the end of 2021, the City will only be collecting donations for the Utility Assistance Program. Program administrators anticipate beginning to accept needs-based program applications starting in January 2022. City utility customers with an outstanding balance will need to demonstrate financial need to qualify for the program.
Contact: Kristen Webb, utility billing manager, kwebb@lawrenceks.org