Creating a regional authority to run Detroit's water department -- one of the important pieces of the Detroit bankruptcy puzzle -- looks farther than ever from becoming a reality, Nolan Finley reports in the Detroit News.
Both the city and suburbs are striking much more adversarial stances, Finley writes.
The Detroit emergency manager has sent notices to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties that he is ending negotiations on an authority until the three counties are aligned in their positions. Oakland and Macomb oppose the authority as proposed by Orr; Wayne County supports its creation, with reservations.
“In the meantime, the city is going to explore other options,” said Orr’s spokesman, Bill Nowling.
The options Orr spelled out last week include either selling the city-owned water system or leasing it to a private management firm.
Meanwhile, Finley writes, Oakland County has hired a law firm to protect its residents from sharing in the cost of Detroit’s bankruptcy.
“We’re going on defense,” said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “We have to shield Oakland County from the tsunami of costs stemming from decades of mismanagement and corruption in the city-run water department.”
