Following the publication of an article in last week’s Star about the Town of Stevensville’s utility bill assistance program (Help For You program seeks new life), Mayor Bob Michalson submitted information to clarify some of the material provided by council member Stacie Barker. He also shared his findings with Barker.
According to the mayor, the original Help to Others (or H2O) program was adopted by Resolution 303 on September 27, 2012 under acting mayor Bill Perrin.
Resolution 380, which rescinded Resolution 303, was passed on September 10, 2015. The program was renamed Help 4 You and first appeared on monthly bills on January 31, 2016. Ratepayers were charged $1.52 per household.
Help 4 You was suspended and removed from bills on May 31, 2017 under mayor Jim Crews.
Resolution 486 was passed on March 11, 2021 under mayor Brandon Dewey. A charge was added back onto the monthly bills on March 31, 2021, this time as a .40 charge per account.
The charge was removed from bills on August 26, 2024 under the current mayor.
Included in the material that Mayor Michalson provided was a statement that “all resolutions were found to have public hearings and public participation.” This was apparently in reference to Barker’s assertion that the assistance program had been determined by MMIA, the town’s insurance carrier, to be illegal.
Michalson said there are about 900 accounts. He also told the Star that all the money raised from the program through the years was spent on helping people with their bills. If eligible, up to 75% of their bill could be covered.
Based on the above timeline and numbers provided by the mayor, the Bitterroot Star did some rough estimates. If there were 900 accounts, during the original 16-month period that the monthly fee was first assessed, approximately $19,000 would have been collected (about $1187 per month). During the second 41-month period, approximately $14,760 would have been collected (approximately $360 per month). At an estimated rate of $82 per month, if 10 households were assisted at 75%, the amount needed to cover that would have been $615 per month.