City to pay off electric utility debts

The San Marcos City Council passed a motion to eliminate the city-implemented Utility Assistance Program during Tuesday's meeting.

Along with discontinuing the assistance program, the council voted for all late fee balances over 30 days past due to be forgiven. 

“It’s just mousy, let's just end this, forgive the debt,” councilmember Shane Scott said. “We went through a really bad time for people and they may never be able to pay this.” 

The remaining funds from the assistance program, totaling $697,986.88 will be used to cover the balances of the late fees from San Marcos residents. 

Mayor Jane Hughson reminded the council that the electric utility company would take a loss of half a million dollars to cover the remaining balances. 

Several points were brought up during the discussion of the item regarding how the community would benefit from debt forgiveness. 

“There are real people that are trying to apply for that free money and are still facing barriers,” councilmember Maxfield Baker said. 

Councilmembers highlighted how some San Marcos residents have faced challenges while attempting to apply for city-implemented assistance programs due to factors such as application processes and certain criteria put into place.

While some councilmembers were in favor of the idea, not all members agreed on the proposed motion. 

“Until I have that data from what the impacts were and we’ve done everything we can, I won’t be supporting it.” councilmember Mark Gleason said. 

Financial implications that would come with forgiving the debt were also discussed.

“Yes, councilmember Scott is exactly right, we own the utility,” city manager Bert Lumbreras said. “It also has an implication on the bottom line and it may not be that an amount like this may have a huge implication, but it does have an implication whether it's on the rates or anything else. 

Ultimately, the motion to eliminate the program and pay off all balances passed 5-2.  

The fees will be covered for those that are at least 30 days delinquent as of Tuesday. Late fees and disconnections will resume on September 1. 

“The implication that’s meaningful to me is that it's going to be a sigh of relief for our neighbors,” councilmember Alyssa Garza said.