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Commissioners deny Portage Township resident’s appeal for utility help
Summary
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners denied an appeal from Lizzie Georgia for water and electric assistance after trustees’ records showed $12,000 in household receipts during the 30-day period and $3,782 documented expenses while approximately $8,000 remained unaccounted for.
Lizzie Georgia appealed a Portage Township trustees’ denial of emergency assistance for her household’s water and electric bills, telling the county board she and her adult daughter live together, that she is unemployed and that the household includes four minor children.
"I was maintaining everything," Georgia said, describing recent job loss and efforts to find work and apply for disability. She said the trustees’ office told her the only option was to “get a job,” and that she felt staff did not listen to her explanations.
Portage Township Trustee Jason Critell told commissioners the household submitted tax returns and other documentation that showed roughly $12,000 in receipts for the 30-day period when the bills accrued. "They did provide documentation and explanation for how $3,782 of that was spent but not the remainder," Critell said, and he said the documented income exceeded eligibility thresholds for a six-person household. He concluded the available resources demonstrated a prior ability to pay the bills and that the trustees had therefore denied the application.
After questions from commissioners about whether applicants were told to account for all expenses for the period, the board voted to deny Georgia’s appeal. Commissioners Morton, Hayen and Baxter recorded affirmative votes on the motion to deny.
The denial ends this appeal; Georgia and her daughter said they will face a 30-day notice on rent after reallocating savings toward utilities once assistance was refused.
