5-08-2020 5:09pm

PRESS RELEASE: PIttsfield Township Residents Can Apply to Defer Utility Bill Payments Up to 6 Months

At its April 22nd meeting, the Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution which authorizes that all residents, including those eligible for the Utility Hardship Assistance Program, may defer their utility payments for up to six months from the due date of May 25, 2020.

The Utility Hardship Assistance Program was adopted in January 2009, to respond to the needs of the Great Recession. It offers a 25% reduction in water and sewer bills to eligible Pittsfield Township residents. The deferment option, adopted last week, allows all Pittsfield Township residents to defer payment on their water and sewer bills due to financial hardship imposed due to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden and severe onset of financial hardships for many in our community that has, according to the most current reports, resulted in 1 out of every 4 Michigander being unemployed.

Since March 15, 2020, when we first began to deal with the pandemic, the township’s administrative and leadership team have taken many steps and implemented multiple initiatives to provide additional protections for vulnerable community members, including an extension of timelines for utility bill payment along with adoption of Resolution #20-16 to assist local, small businesses and Resolution #20-17 to enhance access to affordable housing.

In order to assist low-income families, seniors, and others on fixed income deal with the harsh financial conditions currently facing our community, state, and nation, Pittsfield Township commits to not just the continuation of the Utility Hardship Assistance Program, which reduces, by 25%, the water and sewer bills of eligible township residents but, also, provides for deferred utility (water and sewer) payments for all residents for up to six (6) months from the due date of May 25, 2020.