New system in place for billing utilities at
NewHolly and other family communities
Seattle Housing Authority to pay surcharge
SEATTLE—December
19, 2005—Seattle Housing
staff and NewHolly residents have worked together this year to find
a better way to account for and bill utilities in the NewHolly
community. In the past, billing was handled by a third party company
and a surcharge was added onto residents’ water bills.
“We are aware
that NewHolly residents have been very frustrated with the entire
water billing situation,” said Tom Tierney, SHA executive director.
“We are confident that with these two steps – the elimination of the
surcharge and the billing of services being done directly by Impact
Property Management – many resident concerns will be answered.”
This past fall,
Impact Property Management (a division of SHA) assumed
responsibility for utility billings. Seattle Housing ended its
contract with Minol, which had been previously responsible for billing.
The surcharge
that residents renting at NewHolly have paid since 1999 will be
removed from their water bills beginning in January 2006. The
Housing Authority will assume the surcharge payment at that time.
This surcharge was added to NewHolly utility bills and was intended
to be a mechanism to reimburse Seattle Public Utilities for its
contribution to the new water lines that were part of the
construction at NewHolly. At the time it was assumed that the
increased utility costs would be covered by HUD subsidies and would
have little effect on individual residents. Unfortunately, this has
not been the experience for many NewHolly residents.
Also, effective
in January 2006, new utility allowance rates will go into effect at
NewHolly, Rainier Vista and High Point. “Utility allowances used in
these communities are the same ones used in the Section 8 program,
and they have been recently revised,” noted Tierney. “It seemed
logical to us to make both of these changes at the same time.”
“We didn’t think
it was fair for NewHolly residents to pay more for their water than
residents in our other family communities like Rainier Vista and
High Point,” said Tierney. “Even though, on average, the residents’
utility allowances covered the entire bill, NewHolly residents were
still paying more for water than others in the same situation. Now,
all residents will be on the same footing.”
On average, utility
allowances were sufficient to cover both the surcharges and the
regular water bills. However, some residents found the water bills
excessive.
The current
utility allowances that have been in place at NewHolly are based on
national averages, which tend to be slightly higher than the actual
cost of utilities here in the Northwest, due to climate differences.
The new utility allowances are based on local data and were
determined by a consulting firm that specializes in analyzing this
data and drafting utility allowances. In some cases, the new
allowances will be lower than the current ones. Where this is the
case, a household’s rent will then be slightly higher.
“Overall, each
household is expected to pay 30 percent of their income for rent and
utilities,” explained Willard Brown, redevelopment property manager
at SHA.
“When their rent is calculated, the household gets to keep the
amount of their utility allowance so that they can use that money to
pay the utility bills. If that amount goes down, then their rent
will go up by the same amount.” Residents will receive specific
written notice of any changes in their rent.
Over the past
month, NewHolly residents have had the opportunity to attend
presentations on these changes and get their questions answered from
Seattle Housing Authority staff. Over the next few months, Seattle
Housing, in cooperation with the utility companies, will sponsor workshops for households in the three
communities. The first one
was at NewHolly this month. The workshops focus on helping
residents understand ways they can conserve on utilities.
|
