The KERA housing and utility assistance program is expected to add funds for homeowners as well as renters by the end of the year, according to Board of Public Utilities’ officials.
Currently the state’s housing and utility assistance program is for renters only, but that will change, officials said at the Sept. 15 Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities meeting.
David Mehlhaff, chief communications officer for BPU, said at the Sept. 15 meeting that the KERA (Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance) program has been working on a draft plan that was submitted to the Department of Treasury on Wednesday.
While the plan is still in a draft form and the final version has not yet been completed, Mehlhaff said there are plans to create a Kansas Homeowners Assistance Fund through the Kansas Housing Resource Corp., which is also handling the KERA program.
While it doesn’t have a start date yet, they anticipate it starting at the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022, he said. They anticipate an initial allocation of $56 million for the statewide program, he added.
The new program would have the same type of eligibility requirements as KERA, such as documenting the effects of COVID and financial hardships, and could apply to mortgages, electricity, gas, water, wastewater and other utility payments such as internet service.
Mehlhaff said the Unified Government Commission last month approved $11.7 million for immediate community needs from the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding it received. The commission added $1.85 million in housing assistance in Kansas City, Kansas, from its ARPA funding, he said. The fund also could include utility assistance. The commission is expected to hold workshops this fall on how to spend the remaining ARPA funds, he said, and the BPU will advocate for funding for utility assistance.
The $1.85 million is to be distributed by United Way to 10 to 12 local nonprofit organizations to assist the homeless and others with housing and utility needs. The UG was hoping to complete an agreement with the United Way by Friday, Sept. 17, he added. For utility assistance, payments would go directly to BPU from organizations such as Avenue of Life, Cross-Lines, El Centro and Catholic Charities, he added.
Mehhaff said the BPU also is working with the American Public Power Association to lobby for Department of Treasury guidance that utility assistance funding will not be considered income for the purposes of the income tax.
Jeff Bryant, a BPU board member, said he was floored by the idea that they would consider making the funding taxable for people who receive donations. He added that the federal stimulus payments were nontaxable.
The BPU has a moratorium on disconnecting electric service until Oct. 6, to give customers time to sign up with the KERA program or other assistance programs.
BPU serves 11 utility assistance inquiries in first week of program
The BPU started helping residents fill out their KERA utility applications and answering questions on Sept. 8 under a new customer assistance program. In the first week, the BPU had 11 customer inquiries.
Patrice Townsend, BPU director of utility services, said at the Sept. 15 BPU meeting that they had 10 KERA inquiries on the BPU’s hotline and one from the BPU’s website. Townsend is leading the effort for the BPU to help customers complete their KERA applications.
Of the inquiries from the hotline, three calls were unrelated, another did not want to move forward because of a confidentiality concern, two calls were resolved and four calls from customers were pending, waiting to gather documentation to go through the process, Townsend said.
Of the four pending phone calls, three of the customers did not have a computer, she said.
For the one inquiry that came in through the website, the BPU is waiting on that individual to provide documentation to move forward in the process, she said.
She said some issues that were identified from the callers included getting the landlord to register; customers did not have access to a computer; and homeowners were calling in to apply for KERA. Only renters are eligible for the program currently.
One of the issues that has been resolved involves landlords, Townsend said. If a resident is applying for utility assistance only, and that payment is not included in their rent payment, then documentation is not needed from the landlord, she said. Some customers have stated they couldn’t get their landlords to fill out the paperwork for the application.
KERA has been open since the spring, and individuals stated at past BPU meetings that it was difficult to apply for the assistance. Payments were approved slowly, and some customers in the early days had their utilities cut off while they were waiting for assistance. The BPU then changed to keep the electricity on for customers with completed applications who were waiting for KERA to make a determination on assistance.
About 1,018 Wyandotte County residents so far have applied for KERA utility assistance, with 407 of the accounts receiving KERA payments, according to Johnetta Hinson, BPU executive director of customer service.
Hinson said at the Sept. 15 meeting that 611 BPU customer accounts had KERA alerts on them at the end of August, meaning they had filed their applications and were waiting to hear if they would be approved for assistance. The BPU does not disconnect them while they are waiting to hear from KERA.
As of Aug. 31, the BPU had received $406,309.20 in KERA payments for utility assistance, she said. The payments ranged from less than $100 to over $1,000 on the delinquent accounts, according to Hinson. The payments cover all the items listed on the BPU bills, which include electricity, water, trash fees, wastewater fees, PILOT fees and other charges, according to Hinson.
With the homeowner and landlord issues being addressed, they are now working on addressing customers’ access to a computer, she said. The KERA program application is online from the Kansas Housing Resources Corp. website.
Townsend said the BPU is now considering a plan to have a staff member assist customers in person, if it can be done safely and within COVID guidelines, to resolve the issue of customers who do not have computers. No final plan was announced yet for this, and it could take the form of customer appointments.
Along those lines, Townsend said she has reached out, and is seeing if they might be able to use the Main Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, which has computers open to the public. They might try to have dedicated time slots, if possible, where customers could come to the library and Townsend could be there to assist them, if that plan works out. Also, Donnelly College has offered its computer lab and Townsend said she may be seeing if they could arrange to be there to help customers.
Rose Mulvany Henry, a BPU board member, said she would reach out to Kansas City Kansas Community College to see if a computer could be available at the college’s TEC Center.
Townsend said Mehlhaff and Tiffany Johnson of the BPU communications staff have completed new fliers about KERA, which are available for distribution. The BPU’s website and social media sites have been updated with KERA information, also, she said. Mehlhaff will be making a presentation to Livable Neighborhoods about the program, also, she said.
Besides Mulvany Henry, board member Tom Groneman volunteered to assist in any way possible on this program.
BPU residential customers who have questions about KERA or utility assistance may call 913-573-9123 or email [email protected] and a BPU KERA advocate will assist them in the application process.
Residents also may visit the KHRC website at https://kshousingcorp.org/emergency-rental-assistance/ or call 785-217-2001.
To reach the United Way, call 211.
To see some past stories about utility assistance, visit
https://wyandotteonline.com/bpu-to-start-kera-assistance-line/
https://wyandotteonline.com/bpu-extends-moratorium-on-utility-shutoffs-to-oct-6/
https://wyandotteonline.com/1-85-million-in-housing-assistance-approved-by-ug/