SNOHOMISH — Practically all lower-income Snohomish residents living in single-family homes can now get a big break on their utility bills. Apartment dwellers, though, are frozen out because of a technicality.
The City Council unanimously said yes to give middle-class and lower-income residents discounts on utility charges, including the quarterly trash bill from Republic Services.
The expanded program opens this week.
People would need to sign up with the city to get the discount, and most will need to renew annually.
The reduced rate only applies to people living in single-family homes with a common size of water and sewer pipes: 5/8-inch.
Why no apartments? Because people in apartments and multiplexes do not necessarily get billed directly for their utilities, city officials said.
About one-third of households live in multifamily units, city housing data shows.
Who’s eligible? People earning less than half the area’s median income are eligible for a 75% discount; people earning between 50 to 60 percent of the area’s median income are eligible for a 50% discount.
Who earns under 50% of the median income? An estimated nearly 40% of Snohomish households.
Some examples of who’s eligible would be a single person earning under $47,950 a year or a family of three earning under $61,650 a year.
An estimated 37%, or 1,583, of Snohomish’s households earn under the 50% Average Median Income (AMI), but how many of these households live in single-family housing is not exactly known. Possibly 130 more households straddle between 50% to 60% AMI and would qualify.
In 2022, Snohomish counted 4,229 households in total.
The average utility bill for a single-family household in Snohomish is shy of $200 per month. The 75% reduced rate would lower the bill to $70 per month.
Republic Services has said it is OK with giving discounts on trash service, City Administrator Heather Thomas said.
The move expands the utility fee discount the city offers to low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities who have signed up with the city. As of May, the city had 44 accounts on reduced rates for low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities.
A total cost to the city by enlarging the discount eligibility is not clear. It will heavily depend on how many people sign up. Water-sewer-stormwater discounts affect city utility revenues.
The city will consider whether to absorb the costs or adjust utility rates to compensate for the cost when it has a larger utility rate conversation later this year.
To sign up
To ask questions about this program, start by calling City Hall at 360-568-3115.
The city also has a webpage about its utility discounts program at www.snohomishwa.gov/743/Utility-Assistance
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Updated: This story has been updated to correct the phone number for City Hall with the correct 568-XXXX number. Staff office phones use 360-282-XXXX. The Tribune regrets the error.
