This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Tuesday night, Longmont City Council unanimously passed six ordinances amending the Longmont Municipal Code on City Rebate Programs. The ordinances were brought forward in order to implement a new grocery sales tax rebate, pursuant to the direction of council in December of 2018.
The first of the new ordinances establishes the grocery tax rebate, while the other five ordinance amendments remove the sections pertaining to rebates, directing readers instead to Chapter 4.08 for all rebate information.
According to the new ordinances, “any person living in the city and qualifying for heating assistance under the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) or a city approved means-tested program with an equivalent or lower income requirement shall be eligible to file for rebates under this chapter.”
People will have to apply for these rebates annually by October 31 of the year of eligibility. The funding allocated for this expansion comes from the City of Longmont’s General Fund. The 2019 budget for the rebates is $320,000.
City Council’s intent is to assist low-income residents of Longmont with their day-to-day living expenses. Specifically, council cited their Goal and Objective A3.1, “Assist those in need in our community.”
Any person entitled to these rebates also has the option to donate all, or a portion, of them to the Longmont Senior Services Fund.
