(Spokane, WA) - - As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the economy, the number of people struggling to keep up with their utility bills is outpacing the community’s ability to help them.
The number of Spokane residents and businesses who have fallen more than two months behind on their city utility bills has more than doubled since January, now accounting for nearly one-third of all utility customers.
Officials are contemplating how to respond, as the pandemic and its economic ramifications have stretched far beyond what the city planned for when the coronavirus reached Washington this spring.
Early in the pandemic, the city paused utility shutoffs and allowed customers to set up a deferral or interest-free repayment plan. It also launched a fundraising effort and distributed $182,000 through its U-Help utility assistance program, which provided $130 to the average customer who received assistance.
The city could double down on those efforts by launching another fundraising campaign for utility assistance and continuing to accept more deferrals and repayment plans. Or, the answer could simply be to hope for federal or state support, without which the city may need to cut costs to accommodate the reduced revenue from people failing to pay. The city is now owed $4.8 million from overdue utility accounts.
As city officials consider their next steps, Spokanites continue to fall further behind.
“We’re concerned about the health of our families and businesses. Long-term, we’re concerned about the financial risks for critical utility services for our community,” said Marlene Feist, director of strategic development at the city’s Public Works Department.
The U-Help program is administered by the nonprofit Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, or SNAP, which can field dozens of calls for assistance in a day, according to Carol Weltz, its director of community engagement.
“It’s constant and I don’t see it slowing down at all, and we only have a limited amount of help. They need more help than we can even offer them,” Weltz said. “I don’t know how people are going to pull out of this.”
Feist shares those concerns. A family that is months behind on city utility bills is likely to also be skipping payments like rent and electricity bills.
Many of those reaching out to SNAP have never needed assistance before, Weltz said. Funds for the U-Help program have dwindled to about $28,000, and the nonprofit can only provide so much to every person or family.
About 24% of customers are between one and two months late, which Feist says is typical, as some people just forget to pay or pay later.
But the rate of delinquency greater than 60 days increased from 15% of customers in January to about 30% this month, according to a report provided to the Spokane City Council by city officials this week.
“More people are entering delinquency … and those outstanding balances are continuing to age,” Feist said.
Avista has seen a similar trend.
“The number of Avista customers in Washington with past due amounts at the end of October this year is slightly higher, but in line, with the number at that time last year. But the dollar amount that is past due is approximately double,” Avista spokesperson Casey Fielder said.
In normal times, the city would shut off someone’s utilities between 75 and 90 days after the bill is considered late, but only after a notice is given.
Residential utility customers have fared the worst, but the number of commercial ratepayers at least 90 days late on their bill also has increased. The city approved 123 repayment plans for residential utility customers, with an average balance of $799.
Councilman Michael Cathcart asked city officials to produce a map showing the concentration of overdue accounts in 2020 compared to 2019. As he expected, it showed a dramatic increase in the number of northeast Spokane residents and businesses – who he represents in City Council District 1 – that are at least 90 days late on utility payments.
The map, he wrote on Facebook, demonstrates “how the shutdown has exacerbated these economic disadvantages and Impacted residents in North and Northeast Spokane to a significant degree worse than those elsewhere in the community.”
“We can’t control state mandates, but now more than ever it’s important that we consider how local public policies can address or worsen this situation and how we can overcome these challenges,” Cathcart wrote. “Perhaps now is the time to rethink how resources are expended and applied throughout the city.”
Those in need of utility assistance should call SNAP at
(509) 456-SNAP.
