By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
The Downriver Community Conference Board of Directors passed a resolution supporting 20 Downriver communities that decided they will not be compensating the Great Lakes Water Authority for the $54 million debt dispute involving Highland Park.
The vote was take March 24 where the resolution asked the state of Michigan to take appropriate action to resolve the debt issue and leave the 87 paying member communities whole.
Communities within the DCC will not pay any more toward the Highland Park debt for fiscal year 2022, 2023 and beyond, the resolution said.
A rate increase of 3.7 percent in water rates and 2.4 percent in sewer rates are set to begin July 1 as a result of the debt following approval by the GLWA in February.
Letters addressing the nonpayment of water charges were sent by cities to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asking for greater involvement from the state in resolving the debt dispute.
According to the DCC resolution, the state requested that Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide emergency water services to Highland Park because it was determined that Highland Park’s water treatment plant was creating a public health risk to its residents.
In November 2012 the state stated repairs to the water treatment plant were to be completed within three to four days, but neither the state nor Highland Park repaired the facility, which remains closed, the resolution said.
Since then, Highland Park has accumulated the $54 million in debt to the GLWA for water and sewer services. If the payment pattern continues, that debt will increase to $60.9 million by the end of fiscal year 2023, according to the resolution.
Now, the debt is being distributed to the other 87 GLWA member communities. The resolution requested that the state reimburse the DCC communities for the almost $14 million that has already been paid toward the debt since 2017.
It also calls for the state to develop a long-term infrastructure solution to address the water and sewer issues in Highland Park.
“The DCC Board of Directors calls on the State of Michigan and the legislature to create a system in which this situation of non-payment and communities being charged the non-payment cannot happen in the future,” the resolution read.
Another vote was taken by 18 communities of the Conference of Western Wayne on March 11 where they decided to also not pay toward the debt.
The Wayne County Commission’s Public Services Committee had a resolution on their March 29 meeting agenda where they called for the Wayne County Commission to expeditiously review the circumstances contributing to the pending GLWA water and sewer rate increases.
Also, the committee added that the review should be done with an opportunity by the interested parties to be heard, and review and consider alternative options to address the proposed rate increases.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)