Tag: St. Petersburg

5 Cities That Are Using Water Bills to Identify People in Need

Posted on by robbie

Earlier this year, Detroit ignited controversy when the city government shut off water service to more than 4,000 residences who were late on utility bills. While the crackdown sparked negative press, a pilot program is using the same concept to help low-income residents in financial distress in five cities across the country.
The National League of Cities (NLC) is rethinking the way in which we identify people needing support by using late bills as a signal of distress through a two-year project known as LIFT-UP.

The cities of Houston, Savannah, Ga; Louisville, Ky.; St. Petersburg, Fla. and Newark, N.J. have partnered with NLC to launch an initiative that uses utility bills to help residents with financial and economic stability, according to Governing. While each city’s pilot program is different, all five underscore the idea of supporting residents with outstanding bills in low-income communities.

Outstanding public utility bills are common in most large urban sprawls. In Detroit, half of its customers were past due this year with owing up to $90 million. Some argue that many customers have the money to pay but choose not to.

“I think it’s been common knowledge that the water bill has been placed on the back burner [by some customers], in part because we haven’t been aggressive enough,” said Gregory Eno, a spokesman for the Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage. He points out that after the city shut down services to 4,531 customers in May, 84 percent paid the bills to regain service within 48 hours.

But others contend that while people may prioritize paying off other bills before utility costs, cracking down could make the situation worse. Which is why LIFT-UP is using the process to educate truant customers.

Savannah, which launched a pilot last August, has signed up at least 50 residents allowing them to pay smaller amounts as well as extend the repayment time frame. To apply, residents must have had their water cut off at least once in the past two years, owing an amount ranging from $150 to $500. Customers can pay 25 percent of their bill rather than 50 percent of what’s owed.

Part of the southern city’s initiative, which is run by nonprofit Step-Up Savannah, also entails a one-on-one financial counseling session with a nonprofit provider to help residents budget for bills as well as help them find out if they’re eligible for public aid. After completion, participants receive a $50 credit to their next water bill, which is provided by private foundations partnering with the program. Savannah has seen 13 customers complete the program since its inception.

Detroit is also getting on board with reframing the conversation. The city has planned a financial assistance program through a $1.1 million fund — paid for by voluntary 50-cent donations from water — which will help match monthly payments from low-income customers who have had water services shut off or are at risk.

MORE: Which City Has the Best Tap Water?

The Only Time You’ll Want to See Graffiti All Over Your Neighborhood

Posted on by robbie

Graffiti usually involves defacing a clean surface. But for a growing number of street artists, a dirty wall is a blank canvas just waiting to be washed. Instead of tagging city walls with spray paint, these artists are power-washing dirt, grime and dust from outdoor surfaces, while using stencils to create stunning works of art. The trend, dubbed reverse graffiti, has gained popularity in recent years, thanks in part to Paul “Moose” Curtis — the unofficial “godfather” of this style of street art. A native of England, Curtis has created some of the most iconic pieces of “clean tagging” in the U.S. In 2008, he was commissioned by Green Works, the maker of plant-based cleaning products, to wash a 140-foot mural onto a filthy wall in downtown San Francisco’s Broadway Tunnel. Curtis chose images of plants that were once indigenous to California to give the project a theme of green living. “Every mark is an environmental message, in whatever I do,” he told Modern Hieroglyphics. “It’s written in our dirt so it has a resonance to it, like the truth appearing semi-ghostlike from the fabric of the city.”
MORE: How Kitesurfing Sparked a Green Energy Revolution
The idea of creating clean art in place of traditional graffiti, which is often seen as destructive, has resonated with environmentally conscious artists around the country. In New York City, a trio of green activists launched the Greene Street NYC project in order to spread awareness about clean art. The project, which recently reached its fundraising goal on Kickstarter, aims to make clean art along Houston Street. And in St. Petersburg, Fla., artist Carrie Matteoli was awarded a $1,000 grant by Awesome Tampa Bay, a group of philanthropists, “to identify and transform dirty, dirty locations around the Tampa Bay area” through reverse graffiti. Her first piece was completed just before Thanksgiving.
While Moose says he’s been arrested a few times in pursuit of his art, he hopes it can change the way people think about graffiti. “I replaced the criminal element of graffiti with a positive process,” he says, “restoring a surface, rather than spraying and damaging it.”
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