City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, March 30, 2022) – City of Rochester residents may be eligible to receive funding to help
pay for past-due City water bills under the N.Y. State Low Income Water
Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and for funeral expenses under the Federal
Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program.
Any delinquent water
charges remaining unpaid on May 15 may be added to the upcoming year's tax bill
for the parcel of property against which they are a lien.
“The COVID-19
pandemic has brought hardships to many of our citizens, and I want to make sure
that our residents are aware of the availability of these federal and state
programs designed to ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the
pandemic,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans.
A benefit of up to
$2,500 is available per household to pay the cost of water services.
Eligibility and benefits are based on income, household size and amount owed.
To apply and learn about eligibility and income limits, visit https://otda.ny.gov/programs/water-assistance/.
To apply for funeral
assistance, residents can call FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Helpline at
(844) 684-6333, Mon. to Fri, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Multilingual service is
available. To learn more about eligibility visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance.
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