Ordinance 28050006.200.008C
WSS/klt
10/31/90
ORDINANCE NO. 2805
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON,
REPEALING SECTION 7.30.070 REGARDING WATER AND
SEWER RATE REDUCTIONS FOR LOW INCOME SENIOR
CITIZENS AND DISABLED CITIZENS AND ENACTING IN
ITS PLACE A NEW SECTION 7.30.070 ESTABLISHING A
WATER AND SEWER RATE REDUCTION FOR LOW INCOME
CITIZENS, AND FIXING A TIME WHEN THE SAME SHALL
BECOME EFFECTIVE.
WHEREAS, in the past, the City of Edmonds has
established water and sewer rate reduction for low income senior
citizens;
WHEREAS, those provisions were amended to include low
income disabled citizens;
WHEREAS, concerns have been raised by citizens of the
City regarding the inclusion or exclusion of given groups of
disabled citizens based upon the nature of their disability by
the definitions utilized by the City;
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the provisions
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Fair
Housing Act, and notes the breadth of the definitions of disabled
persons under the Act and the potential conflicts with the
definitions contained in state law;
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to preserve the
confidentiality rights of disabled persons and finds it to be
inappropriate to require persons to provide potentially public
information regarding the nature of their disability as well as
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finding that it is inappropriate for the City staff to be called
upon to make decisions and determinations regarding whether or
not a given individual is disabled; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that is appropriate and
within the public interest to provide any rate reductions to all
low income citizens of the City of Edmonds regardless of age
and/or disability, finding further that the real issue is an
individual's ability to pay and not upon factors such as age or
disability; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 7.30.070 WATER AND SEWER RATE
REDUCTION: LOW INCOME SENIOR CITIZENS AND LOW INCOME DISABLED
CITIZENS is hereby repealed.
Section 2. Chapter 7.30 WATER RATES AND SEWER
CHARGES is hereby amended by the addition of a new section
7.30.070 WATER AND SEWER RATE REDUCTIONS FOR LOW INCOME CITIZENS
to read as follows:
7.30.070 WATER AND SEWER RATE REDUCTIONS FOR
LOW INCOME CITIZENS
A. Definitions. For the purposes of
implementing water and sewer rate
reductions under the provisions of this
section, the following words or phrases
shall have the following definitions:
1. "Low income citizen" shall mean a
person who has established Edmonds
as their residence and whose total
disposable income including that of
his or her spouse or cotenant does
not exceed the amount specified in
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RCW 84.36.381(5)(b) as the same
exists or is hereafter amended.
2. The definition of terms such as
"residence", "total disposable
income", "combined disposable
income", and other such terms used
in this section shall be given those
meanings established by
RCW 84.36.383 as the same exists or
is hereafter amended. In the event
that any provision of the Revised
Code of Washington incorporated by
reference or implication in this
definitional section shall be
amended, such amendment shall be
deemed to be incorporated within or
utilized in interpretation of this
ordinance.
B. Low income citizens shall be given
reductions in the water base rate and the
sewer rate as those rates are established
from time to time by the City Council:
1. A rate reduction of 30% shall be
afforded those low income citizens
who meet the qualifying income and
asset levels established by RCW
84.36.381(5)(b)(i) as the same
exists or shall hereafter be
amended; and
2. A 50% rate reduction shall be
afforded those low income citizens
qualifying under the provisions of
RCW 84.36.381(5)(b)(ii).
3. No rate reduction shall be afforded
to any person shown as a dependent
on the income tax return of any
other individual, whether or not
such person resides at the location
for which the rate reduction is
sought unless the total combined
disposable income of the applicant,
along with their spouse, cotenant
and all family members shown on the
income tax return in which the
applicant is shown as a dependent
total income meets the standards
established by this section.
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C. The Community Services Director is
authorized to establish an application
form for low income citizens rate
reduction. The application shall be
provided without cost by the utility
billing division of the City and shall
include such information, including but
not limited to the following information,
as may reasonably be required by the
Community Services Director:
1. Name, street address, telephone
number, and date of birth of the
applicant.
2. Social security number of the
applicant.
3. Names, dates of birth, and
relationships to the applicant of
all persons residing with the
applicant and any person(s) upon
whose annual income tax return the
applicant is shown as a dependent.
4. Signed copies of the last federal
income tax return of the applicant,
all persons residing with the
applicant, and any individual(s)
upon whose income tax return the
applicant is shown as a dependent,
unless no filing(s) was required
under the provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code.
5. An affidavit of the applicant, all
persons residing with the applicant,
and any person upon whose income tax
return the applicant is shown as the
dependent, setting forth the amount
and source of all other income not
subject to income tax, and a
schedule of all assets of the
applicant other than the primary
residence in which they are residing
and personal affects not readily
convertible to cash.
D. Only one rate reduction shall be
permitted per household.
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E. In the event that any person previously
qualified for a rate reduction shall fail
to comply with the lawful order of the
City to comply with the terms of a water
emergency, the Community Services
Director is hereby authorized to suspend
the rate reduction for a period of six
(6) months, including the month in which
the low income citizen failed to comply
with a water emergency order of the City.
F. Any person denied the rate reduction or
whose rate reduction has been revoked for
the six (6) month period provided in
paragraph E above, may request review
through internal review procedures as
established by the Community Services
Director for suspension for service under
the provisions of chapter 7.10.
Section 2. This ordinance, being an exercise of a
power specifically delegated to the City legislative body, is not
subject to referendum, and shall take effect five (5) days after
passage and publication of the ordinance or a summary thereof
consisting of the title.
APPROVED:
Y ',R�NAIJGHTEN
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED: }
_7 •s
ITYCCLERK, JACQUELINE G. PARRETT
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY:
111M
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: November 1, 1990
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: November 20, 1990
PUBLISHED: November 25, 1990
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 30, 1990
ORDINANCE NO. 2805
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95545 16.50
STATE OF WASHINGTON,
COUNTY OF SNOHOMISH,
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will be ninlifd uoan reque51�
DATED this 20th day at
November, 1990-
JACOUELINE G. PARRETT
CHv Cfe rk
PufNlshad: Nove-Li 25. 1991 �
Affidavit of Publication
The undersigned, being first duly sworn on oath deposes and says
that she is Principal Clerk of THE HERALD, a daily newspaper
printed and published in the City of Everett, County of Snohomish,
and State of Washington; that said newspaper is a newspaper of
general circulation in said County and State; that said newspaper
has been approved as a legal newspaper by order of the Superior
Court of Snohomish County and that the notice ........................................
Summary of Ordinance No. 2805
a printed copy of which is hereunto attached, was published in said
newspaper proper and not in supplement form, in the regular and
entire edition of said paper on the following days and times, namely:
November 25, 1990
and that said newspaper was regularly distributed to its subscribers
during all of said period.
. .
,.
Principal Clerk
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ........... 2 6 t h
Novemb 90
day of/ar
:.-...... F 19.........
ublic ' and for the State of Washin ton,
at Everett, Snohomish County.
B-2-1