by John Dowd
After the Town of Stevensville passed its rate changes for water and sewer, another decision was made to drop a program that assisted residents with paying for those utilities. The reasoning came down to the program being illegal to operate. This was based on several factors, according to Stevensville Town Council member Stacie Barker. Barker said they dropped the program mainly because it was passed without being presented to the public, sidestepping the public’s right to participate. It was also dropped because it was a non-elective addition to residents’ bills to assist other residents in paying their bills.
The program was called “Help for You,” and started in 2010. Its purpose was to provide assistance to town residents who qualified in paying for their sewer and water payments. Qualifying for help through the program was based on a person’s income and age. The program was originally called “Help to Others,” and until 2015 that program fell under Resolution 303. That year it was replaced with Resolution 380, which renamed the program to what most people now know as “Help for You.”
Before the change, the program was not well-known. It was hoped that the change would spread the word on how it could help members of the community. Barker stated that the program was created and then changed several times, all without much participation from the community.
For Barker, the program was really controversial for years, and she was definitely against it when she first learned of it. Besides having circumvented public participation, other than a few meetings where comments went unheard, paying into the program was non-elective for community members. Every ratepayer had to contribute because the amount was included in their monthly billing.
The issue for Barker was that community members had no choice to opt in or out of paying into the fund. “I didn’t think it was right to take away from people like me, who already pay our bills,” said Barker. Barker said she spoke out at one of the town council meetings against the program.
The Help for You program would see continual attention over the years, going through several changes, including a 2016 meeting which changed the percentage people paid into the program, and being suspended a short time in 2017, though it continued to pull money from people’s bills. As of 2016, people paid about $1.50 on each bill into the program. In 2020, Mayor Brandon Dewey’s administration would change and update the qualifications for program recipients.
Finally, this year, when the town council attended an MMIA training in May, they were told the program could not be run at all, as it was illegal. MMIA reportedly stated that not only was it illegal to run the program without giving users a choice, but it was also illegal for the program to exist having never come before the public in a way that they could participate. In addition, said Barker, MMIA said it was also illegal based on the town government receiving money from all users but selectively assisting certain community members.
However, there are several community members that rely on the program. According to Barker, “I don’t want to see it go away, but let’s do it the right way.” Barker has taken it upon herself to track down a way to maintain such a program for community members in need. She recently reached out to the Stevensville Community Foundation. Because they are an outside non-profit organization, Barker believes they would be able to help set up a way community members could elect to donate. These donations could then be given in “gift” form to the Town, for the express purpose of helping certain individuals pay their bills. Barker said the foundation was a first point of interest for her because not only do they already do a lot for the community of Stevensville, but they are also already established.
There were around 10 individuals benefiting from the program before it was halted, and at the time of its cancellation, there was only about 40 cents in the fund. Barker is looking at other options to bring the program back to life. If the foundation cannot take the program on, Barker may need to go to state and local funding sources that could help manage such a program.
“It was good intentioned,” said Barker of the previous program. However, she believes it is good that the council stopped it the way it was operating. Now, they can look for a legal way to do it that will continue to benefit the community.