An applicant must qualify as a low-income senior citizen or low-income disabled person to receive reduced rate utility services. To qualify as a low-income senior citizen or low-income disabled person for any purpose under any and all titles of this code, an applicant must satisfy each of the following criteria:
A. Age. The applicant must be 65 years of age, except that the age requirement is waived for the following applicants:
1. Disability. An applicant qualifying for special parking privileges under RCW
46.16.381(1)(a) through
(1)(f), an applicant who is blind as defined in RCW
74.18.020, an applicant who is disabled, handicapped, or developmentally disabled as defined in RCW
71A.10.020(2), an applicant who is mentally ill as defined in RCW
71.05.020(1), or an applicant who is incapacitated as defined under any other existing state or federal program;
2. Dialysis. Applicants who are under home kidney dialysis treatment;
3. Waiver. The city administrator may waive the age requirement for any applicant with a serious disability or long-term illness if, after a reasonable investigation, the administrator determines that the applicant's disability or illness is sufficiently debilitating to merit waiver of the requirement. In determining if waiver is appropriate, the administrator shall consider the following factors:
a. The expected duration of illness or disability;
b. The physical limitations imposed on the applicant by the illness or disability as evidenced by a physician's affidavit or by a veteran's disability award letter;
c. The applicant's projected annual expenses caused by the illness or disability;
d. The impact of the illness or disability on the applicant's use of the service or privilege being sought;
e. The applicant's ability to find employment;
f. The applicant's alternative sources of income.
B. Income. The annual gross income of the applicant's household may not exceed the "low income" set in the Official Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") Income Guidelines, except that the administrator may deviate from the guidelines to ensure that the income guideline correlates with the Greater Seattle Consumers Index, as it is determined for July of the previous year. The applicant is only required to show household income verification documents for the first year's application or in subsequent years when requested by the city, at intervals not to exceed three years.
1. Baseline for Income Guidelines. Until a new HUD income guideline is filed in accordance with subsection (B)(3) of this section, or in the event a new HUD income guideline is not filed, the HUD income guideline "low income" for 1995 shall serve as the "low income" of the HUD income guideline for the purposes of determining if an applicant qualifies as a low-income senior citizen or low-income disabled person.
2. Income Guideline Effective Date. An income guideline shall be effective from July 1st of the year it is filed with the Enumclaw city clerk's office to June 30th of the following year. In the event no new income guideline is filed, the last income guideline on file with the city clerk shall continue to be in effect for each consecutive July 1st through June 30th term until a new income guideline is filed.
3. Filing and Applicant Inspection. Either the Housing and Urban Development income schedule or the deviated schedule created by the administrator shall be filed with the city clerk's office by June 30th of each year, and shall be available for public inspection during business hours from July 1st of the year filed to June 30th of the following year.
4. Change in Applicant Income. If the applicant's income, or the income of an applicant's household member, exceeds the posted income schedule at any time during the effective dates of the filed income schedule, the applicant shall no longer qualify as a low-income senior citizen or low-income disabled citizen and may be subject to the penalties set forth below in EMC § 14.90.030(A)(2)(d).
(Ord. 1875 § 3(A), (B), 1995; Ord. 2786 § 1, 2024)