§ 6-67. Income

(a) Income standards. Applicants whose income exceeds the overall maximum level of assistance provided in section 6-68 shall not be eligible for general assistance except in an emergency. The administrator will conduct an individual factual inquiry into the applicant's income and expenses each time an applicant applies.

(b) Calculation of income. To determine whether applicants are in need, the administrator will calculate the income they will receive during the next thirty-day period commencing on the date of application, and identify any assets or resources that would alleviate their need. For all applicants other than initial applicants, the administrator will also consider as available income any income that was not spent during the previous thirty-day period on basic necessities, as well as any income that was spent on basic necessities in unreasonable excess of the chapter maximums for specific basic necessities. If a household's income exceeds the amount of the household's need for basic necessities, up to the maximum levels contained in section 6-68, applicants will not be considered in need.

Exceptions will be made in emergency situations, which may necessitate that the maximum levels be exceeded (22 M.R.S.A. § 4308) (see section 6-29). To calculate weekly income and expenses, the administrator will use actual income received or actual anticipated income.

(c) Types of income. Income that will be considered in determining an applicant's need includes:

(1) Earned income. Income in cash or in kind earned by the applicant through wages, salary, commissions, or profit, whether self-employed or as an employee, is considered earned income. If a person is self-employed, total income will be computed by subtracting reasonable and actual business expenses from gross income. When income consists of wages, the amount computed will be the income available after taxes, social security and other payroll deductions required by state, federal, and local law. Rental income and profit from produce that is sold is considered earned income. Income that is held in trust and unavailable to the applicant or the applicant's dependents will not be considered as earned income.

Note: Actual work-related expenses such as union dues, transportation to and from work, special equipment or work clothes, and child care costs will be deducted from an applicant's income (22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(7)).

(2) Income from other assistance or social services programs. State/federal categorical assistance benefits, SSI payments, Social Security payments, VA benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, and payments from other government sources will be considered as income, unless expressly prohibited by federal law or regulation. Federal law prohibits Food Stamps and fuel assistance payments made by the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP and EPIC) from being considered income. The value of the food stamps or fuel assistance will not be used to reduce the amount of general assistance the applicant is eligible to receive. Although applicants may have only a limited or reduced need for general assistance for heating fuel or electricity if a recently received HEAP/ECIP benefit has sufficiently credited their account or otherwise prevented the fuel-related costs for the prospective thirty-day period.

The administrator's obligation is to always compute the heating needs of an applicant who has received HEAP or ECIP as if that applicant paid for his or her total fuel costs. Accordingly, in such cases, the administrator will budget for the household's heating energy needs according to actual usage, up to the chapter maximums, but the administrator may, with written notice to the applicant, hold in reserve the heating energy portion of the applicant's deficit until such a time during the period of eligibility that the applicant has a demonstrable need for the disbursement of heating energy assistance; that is, the applicant's fuel tank can accept a minimum fuel delivery or the applicant no longer has a positive credit balance with his or her utility company. The municipality is not obligated to divert any recipient's heating energy allowance toward non-heating purposes solely on the basis of the recipient's receipt of HEAP/ECIP.

Other programs whose income cannot be counted for purposes of GA eligibility include:

• Family development accounts (22 M.R.S. § 3762)

• Americorp VISTA program benefits (42 USCS § 5044 (f))

• Property tax rebates issued under the state residents property tax program (so-called "circuitbreaker" program) (36 M.R.S.A. § 6216)

(3) Court-ordered support payments. Alimony and child support payments will be considered income only if actually received by the applicant. The general assistance administrator will refer cases where support payments are not actually received to the state department of health and human services' child support enforcement unit. In order to be eligible for future GA, applicants being referred to DHHS for such enforcement services shall be required to follow-through with such services. Because child support payments are considered a resource, applicants must make a good faith effort to secure such payments.

(4) Income from other sources. Payments from pensions and trust funds will be considered income. Payments from boarders or lodgers will be considered income as will cash or in-kind contributions provided to the household from any other source, including relatives (22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(7)).

(5) Earnings of a son or daughter. Earned income received by sons and daughters below the age of eighteen (18) who are full-time students and who are not working full-time will not be considered income. The unearned income of a minor in the household will be considered available to the household.

(6) Income from household members. Income from household members will be considered available to the applicant, whether or not the household member is legally obligated for the support of the applicant, if the household members pool or share their income and expenses as a family or intermingle their funds so as to provide support to one another.

(7) The pooling or nonpooling of income. When two (2) or more individuals share the same dwelling unit but not all members of the household are applying for general assistance, the administrator shall make a finding under a rebuttable presumption that the entire household is pooling income (22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(12-A)).

One (1) or more applicants for assistance can successfully rebut the presumption that all household income is being pooled by providing the administrator with verifiable documentation affirmatively demonstrating a pattern of non-pooling for the duration of the shared living arrangement. Such documentation would include evidence of the entire household expenses as well as bank statements, cancelled checks, receipts, landlord statements or other vendor accounts clearly supporting a claim that the applicant has been and is presently solely and entirely responsible for his or her pro-rata share of household costs.

If the applicant is unable to successfully rebut the municipality's presumption that all household income is being pooled, eligibility of the entire household will be determined based on total household income. If the applicant successfully rebuts the municipality's presumption that all household income is being pooled, the applicant's eligibility will be determined on the basis of his or her income and his or her pro-rata share of actual household expenses.

(8) Lump sum income. A lump sum payment received by any GA applicant or recipient prior to the date of application for general assistance will be considered as income available to the household. However, verified required payments (i.e., any third-party payment which is required as a condition of receiving the lump sum payment, or any payments of bills earmarked for the purpose for which the lump sum payment was made) and any amount of the lump sum payment which the applicant can document was spent on basic necessities, as described below, will not be considered available income.

Where a household receives a lump sum payment at any time prior to the date of application for general assistance, the administrator will assess the need for prorating an applicant's eligibility for general assistance according to the following criteria (22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(7), (8-A)):

a. Identify the date the lump sum payment was received;

b. Subtract from the lump sum payment all required payments;

c. Subtract from the lump sum any amount the applicant can demonstrate was spent on basic necessities, including all basic necessities as defined by the general assistance program such as: reasonable payment of funeral or burial expenses for a family member; any reasonable travel costs related to the illness or death of a family member; repair or replacement of essentials lost due to fire, flood or other natural disaster; repair or purchase of a motor vehicle essential for employment, education, training or other day-to-day living necessities. Repayments of loans or credit, the proceeds of which can be verified as having been spent on basic necessities; and payment of bills earmarked for the purpose for which the lump sum is paid must also be subtracted. (22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(7), (8-A));

d. Add to the remainder all income received by the household between the date of receipt of the lump sum payment and the date of application for general assistance; and

e. Divide the sum created in subsection (4) by the greater of the verified actual monthly amounts for all of the household's basic necessities or one hundred fifty (150) percent of the applicable federal poverty guidelines (22 M.R.S.A. § 4305(3-B)).

This dividend represents the period of proration determined by the administrator to commence on the date of receipt of the lump sum payment. The prorated sum for each month must be considered available to the household for twelve (12) months from the date of application or during the period of proration, whichever is less.

The household of an initial applicant that is otherwise eligible for emergency assistance may not be denied emergency assistance to meet an immediate need solely on the basis of the proration of a lump sum payment. (22 MRSA § 4308)

(Ord. of 4-28-2008, Art. VI, § 6.7)