§ 6-63. Verification

(a) Eligibility of applicant; duration of eligibility. The overseer shall determine eligibility each time a person applies or reapplies for general assistance. The period of eligibility will not exceed one (1) month. At the expiration of this period applicants/recipients may reapply for assistance and the person's eligibility will be redetermined.

(b) Applicant's responsibilities. Applicants and recipients for general assistance are responsible for providing to the overseer all information necessary to determine eligibility. If further information or documentation is necessary to demonstrate eligibility, the applicant must have the first opportunity to provide the specific information or documentation required by the overseer. When information required by the overseer is unavailable, the overseer must accept alternative available information, which is subject to verification.

Each applicant and recipient has the responsibility at the time of application and continuing thereafter to provide complete, accurate and current information and documentation concerning his/her:

•Need

•Income

•Employment

•Use of income

•Expenses

•Assets and liabilities

•Use of available resources

•Household composition

(c) Initial applicants. A person who has not applied for assistance in this or any other municipality are considered initial applicants and must have their eligibility determined solely on the basis of need. Initial applicants are not subject to eligibility conditions placed on repeat applicants (see below). However, such applicants are still responsible for providing the GA administrator with reasonably obtainable documentation adequate to verify that there is a need for assistance. In addition, initial applicants must also comply with both lump sum and relevant work rules (i.e. job quit).

(d) Repeat applicants. All applicants for general assistance that are not initial applicants are repeat applicants. The eligibility of repeat applicants must be determined on the basis of need and all other conditions of eligibility established by law and this chapter.

The administrator will require documentation of a repeat applicant's income, use of income, assets and resources plus actual bills and receipts for rent, utilities, fuel, telephone, medical services and other basic necessities. In addition, repeat applicants instructed to seek employment shall verify their work search results, e.g., provide a list of the employers contacted, the date and time of the application contact, and the name of the employer representative contacted, as required by the GA administrator.

Repeat applicants are also responsible for providing any changes of information reported on previous applications including changes in his/her household or income that may affect his/her eligibility.

(e) Unforeseen repeat applicants. Unforeseen repeat applicants are applicants who have not applied for assistance within the last twelve (12) months and who have been regularly employed or receiving support from a public benefit or private source who have unexpectedly become unemployed through no fault of their own or whose income and/or benefits (e.g., through an available resource) have ceased through no fault of their own. Such unforeseen repeat applicants may be considered initial applicants for purposes of verification requirements and misspent income if the administrator finds that imposing the general verification requirements and misspent income rules imposed on repeat applicants would be unreasonable or inappropriate.

(f) Overseer's responsibilities. In order to determine an applicant's eligibility for general assistance, the overseer first must seek information and documentation from the applicant. Once the applicant has presented the necessary information, the overseer is responsible for determining eligibility. The overseer will seek verification necessary to determine eligibility. In order to determine eligibility, the overseer may contact sources other than the applicant for verification only with the specific knowledge and consent of the applicant, except that the overseer may examine public records without the applicant's knowledge and consent.

Appropriate sources, which the overseers may contact, include, but are not limited to:

•DHHS and any other department/agency of the state or non-profit organizations

•Financial institutions

•Creditors

•Utility companies

•Employers

•Landlords

•Physicians

•Persons with whom the applicant/recipient is a cohabitant

•Legally and non-legally liable relatives

Assistance will be denied or terminated if the applicant is unwilling to supply the overseer with necessary information, documentation, or permission to make collateral contacts, or if the overseer cannot determine that eligibility exists based on information supplied by the applicant or others.

(g) Redetermination of eligibility. The overseer may redetermine a person's eligibility at any time during the period that person is receiving assistance if the overseer is informed of any change in the recipient's circumstances that may affect the amount of assistance to which the recipient is entitled or that may make the recipient ineligible, provided that once a determination of eligibility has been made for a specific time period, a reduction in assistance for that time period may not be made without prior written notice to the recipient with the reasons for the action and an opportunity for the recipient to receive a fair hearing upon the proposed change.

(h) Penalty for refusing to release information. Any person governed by 22 M.R.S.A. § 4314 who refuses to provide necessary information to the administrator after it has been requested must state in writing the reasons for the refusal within three (3) days of receiving the request. Any such person who refuses to provide the information, without just cause, commits a civil violation and may be subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) which may be adjudged in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any person who willfully renders false information to the administrator is guilty of a class E crime (22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4314(5), 4314(6), 4315).

(Ord. of 4-28-2008, Art. VI, § 6.3)