Council pauses action on proposed senior utility protections, signals broader rewrite of shutoff rules

East Point — A proposal to prevent automatic shutoffs for residents age 75 and to give a 30-day grace period to long-term, on-time customers prompted a legal review and a decision to postpone action while staff and council refine the approach.

Councilmember Josh Butler introduced language aiming to protect older residents and customers with long payment histories. The city attorney and outside counsel cautioned that an ordinance explicitly keyed only to age raises constitutional equal-protection and scrutiny issues and must be supported by a narrowly tailored compelling government interest if it treats a protected class differently. City counsel advised either (a) crafting the ordinance to rely on non-protected criteria (such as a defined "customer-in-good-standing" or documented medical hardship) or (b) including detailed whereas clauses that document public-health, safety and vulnerability rationales for any age-based exemption.

Councilmembers expressed broad support for improving notification and preventing untimely disconnects. Councilmember Ziegler, Atkins and others urged a wholesale review of the code and operational practices governing shutoffs and recommended using the municipal utility advisory commission or a work session to develop a comprehensive rewrite. City staff noted technical solutions — such as automated courtesy calls tied to account phone numbers — could address many notification failures without changing substantive legal standards.

Outcome: The domestic-partnership item and the proposed utility-shutoff ordinance were deferred to the January work session (domestic partnership) and to a rewrite process for utility rules; council asked staff to include automatic-notification options and to consult advisory bodies and legal counsel before returning new draft language.