WATERLOGGED BY POLITICS?
Commissioners advance resolution opposing legislation that would raise water bills; vote falls mostly along partisan lines
The Macomb County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Thursday to oppose pending state legislation that would add a $2 per month fee to water and sewer bills to help low-income people pay their water bills.
The board Government Oversight Committee approved the resolution in a 9-4 largely partisan vote to oppose a package of state Senate bills that have become a source of public debate among local governments. Boards of commissioners in Oakland and Wayne counties passed measures to support the bills, while 17 Macomb County municipalities preceded commissioners in opposing the package.
The Macomb board will cast a final vote Thursday at its regular monthly full board meeting at the county Administration Building in Mount Clemens.
Macomb’s opposition has been led by county Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, who reiterated
her position in a Feb. 6 letter to the board: the bills would increase water and sewer bills in Macomb County but “primarily benefit others in the state,” the “biggest beneficiary” being the city of Detroit.
Miller attended Thursday’s meeting but did not speak.
The bill would establish that households with an income below 200% of the federal poverty level pay 3% of their income for water, with
the difference to be paid by the statewide assessment.
Supporters of the bill say low-income users need more help in paying bills for a critical service, water, and existing programs are not enough. Since 1980s, average water costs, adjusted for inflation, have increased by 188 percent; families in urban areas and less densely populated communities have seen rates rise by up to 320 percent, according to the state Senate Democrats.
“We are the Great Lakes State, surrounded by fresh water, we want to make sure every person in this state has access to water no matter how much money they have,” state Sen. Stephanie Chang, a Detroit Democrat, on Sunday’s broadcast of “Flashpoint” on WDIV-TV (Channel 4).
Chang, a Democrat who represents small sections of Macomb and Oakland counties, said it’s modeled on the Michigan Energy Assistance Program “to really make sure we create a long-term, sustainable funding mechanism to make sure everyone has access to water.”
Miller, a Republican, countered on Flashpoint that the county already helps low-income people pay their bills, and the $2 per month assessment, which could increase to $3, is essentially a “cash cow” to help bail out Detroit.
“That’s money our county and our municipalities could be using for infrastructure improvements instead of shipping it out of the county,” Miller said on the program.