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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 20

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 27 Chapter 20 Emergency and Special Assistance Programs

Payment Amount Example: An applicant submits an overdue utility bill in the amount of $235 which accumulated over a period of 93 days. Since the overdue bill is over 30 days, it is necessary to determine the average daily amount multiplied by 30 days. The amount of payment is computed as follows: $235 divided by 93 days = $2.53 x 30 days = $75.90. The Worker must explain to the applicant that payment may be made up to the calculated maximum amount. The Worker must contact the utility provider to determine if this payment will eliminate the emergency. The Worker must inform both the applicant and the provider that payment of the remaining balance must be worked out between the provider and the applicant. The Worker is not involved in these negotiations. • When the overdue amount has a Budget Accrual Reconciliation or Settlement amount, this is the amount of a bill in excess of the monthly budget bill which accumulates during the length of the budget period, usually 12 months. The client is responsible for paying that amount of the total annual bill not covered by the monthly budget payments. The amount of payment is determined by dividing the number of days over which a budget overrun occurred into the total amount of the overdue budget settlement bill. It is necessary to contact the utility company to determine the number of days in which overruns occurred, unless the applicant can supply this information. If the utility company or the applicant cannot or refuses to provide this information, the total number of months in the entire budget period is used to determine the amount of payment. The length of the budget period is usually 365 days unless information otherwise is obtained. Complicating this procedure are situations in which the overdue budget settlement bill is combined with or added to a routine overdue bill on the same notice of termination. In these situations, the amount of the overdue budget settlement bill must be separated from the amount of the routine overdue bill. A daily average is then determined for each overdue bill in excess of 30 days. The two amounts are multiplied by 30 and the two are added to determine the amount of payment. Overdue Bill Example: The total amount of the overdue bill on the termination statement is $235.50. The overdue budget settlement bill is $85.50. Budget overruns occurred during 243 of the 365-day budget period. The regular overdue bill is $150, accumulated over a period of 45 days. Computation of overdue budget bill: $85.50 divided by 243 - $0.35 x 30 days = $10.50