Residents must go by town hall and fill out a hardship application
Realizing the hardship COVID-19 is and will be placing on families, the Jay Town Council voted Tuesday night to suspend utility cutoffs and waive late fees, turnoff fees and reconnect fees providing residents fill out a hardship application at town hall.
Mayor Shon Owens and Councilmen Wayne Godwin and Joshua Holloway unanimously voted to suspend the cutoffs and fees during the coronavirus state of emergency.
Operations Manager Eric Seib noted town hall closed its lobby Tuesday but residents still have access to the drive-thru and can also call town hall at 850-675-4556. He also said maintenance crews will continue to answer calls to help limit their exposure.
He also noted that the park will remain open for the time being with the town emphasizing limiting groups to 10 or less.
Mayor Owens said the town will keep the park open until it sees more issues related to the virus or large gatherings.
The community center will also remain open but there will be no rentals for the near future.
It was pointed out that there were about 25 utility accounts past due that were scheduled to be cut off Wednesday. Officials also said the list included a lot of people who are late every month and all had been called.
The council agreed to extend this month's cutoff date to Monday, March 30. The town will also have hardship applications for residents to fill out to prevent future cutoffs and fees.
Holloway said he knew there would be some people trying to take advantage of the situation but said he had a real problem with cutting people off right now.
“I'm very much opposed to cutting water off in this situation,” Holloway said.
The council agreed the hardship applications will be for people who have lost their jobs or have reduced hours due to the virus.
Holloway also pointed out that some people will have added expenses due to the school closures and those having to pay unexpected daycare should also be included. The council agreed to include unexpected expenses to qualify for the hardship.
Godwin said the council needed to make sure it limits the changes to the COVID-19 period or the town would be “opening a can of worms”.
The council agreed to suspend late fees for April and will readdress the situation after that.
It was also decided that if a hardship application is turned down, the applicant can appeal that decision to the entire council.
Owens said if anybody needs assistance they need to come to town hall and fill out an application. Owens also said if there are families with children who can't pay their water bill, he would pay it for them but not for people who are trying to take advantage of the situation.
