Amid contentious talks to create a regional water authority to help the city out of bankruptcy, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department plans a mass crackdown on residents and companies more than 60 days late on their water bills, Steve Pardo reports in the Detroit News.
Officials claim the campaign is not directly related to bankruptcy, though fear of being stuck with Detroit’s delinquencies has kept suburban leaders from embracing a regional water authority proposed by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr.
The department will shut off service to between 1,500 to 3,000 delinquent accounts a week, Darryl Latimer, the department’s deputy director, told Pardo.
Including businesses, schools and commercial buildings, there are 323,900 Detroit water and sewerage accounts; 164,938 were overdue for a total of $175 million as of March 6. Residential accounts total 296,115; 154,229 were delinquent for a total of $91.7 million.
The department halts cutoffs through the winter because of complications associated with freezing temperatures, such as damaged pipes. But this spring, a new contractor has been hired to target those who are more than two months behind or who owe more than $150 — twice the average monthly bill of $75.
“Not everyone is in the situation where they can’t afford to pay,” he said. “It’s just that the utility bill is the last bill people choose to pay because there isn’t any threat of being out of service.”
Pardo reports Department officials say the initiative is unrelated to Detroit’s bankruptcy restructuring and is simply a renewed effort to remedy a longstanding problem.
