90,000 LOSE DWP AID SUBSIDY RECIPIENTS DIDN'T UPDATE STATUS.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has dumped about half of the poor, old or disabled customers from its subsidy program because they did not respond to notices requiring them to provide updated proof of their eligibility.

The first of what will now become annual recertification requirements led to eliminating more than 90,000 of the 180,000 people from the reduced-rate service program, said Frank Salas, chief administrative officer for DWP. Officials believe about 30,000 of those dropped actually qualify for the program.

The subsidy equals as much as $20 per bimonthly bill for poor families and people living on Social Security due to disabilities.

``This could be devastating for low-income people,'' said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents downtown and parts of South Los Angeles.

The DWP apparently had not made public or informed the City Council of the drop-off of low-income subsidies.

To middle-income residents, the subsidy might not seem like much, but to Kathy Mahoney, a 39-year-old Canoga Park mother with a small child, it can mean going without a necessity.

``We're literally counting pennies,'' said Mahoney, who suffers from a mood disorder which she said can be debilitating at times. ``That $20 is for diapers or milk.''

Mahoney was one of those dropped from the program in April and has been trying to get requalified ever since. She's called Social Security to get a notice certifying her income, and is trying to get help through the DWP customer service. Though it appears she will be let back into the program, she was dismayed to find she won't get reimbursed for the higher water and electricity rates she's now paying.

Despite DWP officials' assertion that all low-income customers got a notice, Mahoney said she received no letter except the final notice saying her subsidy was being pulled.

``It's hard enough as it is,'' Mahoney said. ``This is just one more thing added to the pile of stress.''

Last fall, the DWP began a program to recertify all of the customers who were claiming low-income status, something they say hadn't been done in several years. It came at a time when the federal government had changed the guidelines for low-income status. The recertification did not affect the subsidies for senior citizens or disabled people, though many people got both the low-income subsidy and one of the others, DWP officials said.

First, the customer service department sent out notices separate from the bill with instructions on how to recertify and including an application form and a list of what documents to include. Three months later, another letter went out. For the thousands who didn't respond, a final letter saying the subsidy had been retracted was sent out in the spring.

For whatever reason, about 90,000 did not respond and by the April deadline they were dumped from the program. Since then, as many as 16,000 have sought recertification.

Salas doesn't know why some chose not to respond. The letters were sent out in Spanish as well as English. There was six months of notice, and plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

Census data indicate at least 120,000 in Los Angeles qualify for the program, Salas said.

``This has not gone unnoticed - not by management, but also the board,'' said DWP Commission President Kenneth Lombard. ``We are very committed to making sure the program reaches those who need it.''

As such, DWP is now launching a public service campaign to find and sign up those thousands dropped from the program who do qualify. The department is contacting community-based organizations and senior associations, sending out brochures in six languages and running ads in the newspaper to get people to reapply.

Julie Wong, spokeswoman for Mayor James Hahn, said the mayor is urging the DWP get those people back in the program.

``Mayor Hahn has asked the DWP to conduct an aggressive outreach program to ensure eligible people know that they're eligible and complete the recertification papers,'' Wong said.

That's a start, but Mahoney and her friend Cheseray Buonaparte, who has helped her navigate the recertification process, say that the nature of being disabled means it's difficult for people to follow up, or to go through the bureaucratic hoops like others, so the recertification process might continue to weed out people who really do need it.

``You just want to say, Screw it,'' and hang up and not deal with it,'' Mahoney said. ``Think about people like me, and it's much worse for people who don't have a loving person to help.''

Mariel Garza, [phone]

mariel.garza(at)dailynews.com