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<br />Causal Factors Related to Increase: <br />¦ PSNC Energy charges a $250 deposit to reconnect gas service that was <br />turned off due to non payment in addition to the existing bill <br />¦ Heating costs have increased an average of 43% <br />¦ Town of Hillsborough had two increases in water bills during the last year <br />¦ OWASA had increases of 6% for water and 3% for sewer service last year <br />¦ Due to the economy, there are more people out of work or experiencing <br />reduced work hours <br />Summary Update <br />? From July 1, 2002 to present, 1,082 families have received emergency <br />energy assistance; of that, 128 families (or 12%) have received financial <br />counseling. <br />? Families have generally been able to adjust to the lower payment by <br />combining the DSS funds with other resources <br />? The Guarantor Program has been effective and will be continued by DSS <br />? The overall changes have contained the growth in costs, although DSS may <br />still exhaust available funds before the end of the fiscal year <br />? Additional analysis of the effectiveness of the financial counseling <br />requirement needs to occur as more history becomes available <br />? Computerized tracking of all client requests needs to become available to <br />help DSS staff and for planning data. <br />B. Orange Congregations In Mission (OCIM) Samaritan Relief Ministry <br />¦ The Samaritan Relief Ministry (SRM) has seen a 27% increase in individuals <br />receiving overall assistance from 2001 to 2002. <br />¦ The SRM has seen a 42% increase in food assistance from 2001 to 2002. <br />The SRM has seen a 9% decrease in the dollar amount provided for utility <br />assistance. Starting in August 2002, the SRM was limited to a maximum of <br />$50.00 per household for financial assistance; previously, it was a maximum <br />of $150.00 per household. This reduction was due to the overall reduced <br />financial donations and increased need to purchase non-perishable food <br />items. <br />Relationship to Utility Companies: <br />¦ The SRM currently has no formal arrangements with utility companies. <br />However, the agency is able to call the utility companies to commit a dollar <br />amount towards the client's utility bill. This insures that the SRM's portion of <br />the needed amount will immediately go towards keeping a utility connected.