![Judge-Steven-Rhodes]()
![Judge-Steven-Rhodes]()
By T. Kelly
The Michigan Citizen
DETROIT — Tuesday, July 15, Judge Steven Rhodes heard two versions of how delinquent water bills are treated.
After spending the morning listening to 17 citizens object to Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s plan of adjustment, with some of the complaints and statements telling of the harm being done by the harsh Detroit Water and Sewerage Department cut offs, Rhodes ordered the DWSD to appear that afternoon and provide an explanation for the massive water shutoffs underway in the city since March.
Darryl Latimer, deputy director of the DWSD, appeared at the 2 p.m. session and told the judge delinquent accounts were usually required to pay 30 percent of the past due amount. Rhodes said published reports indicated there was no leniency if users didn’t have the 30 percent. Latimer said the reports were inaccurate; that plans could be worked out without the 30 percent payment.
[caption id="attachment_13124" align="alignright" width="119"]
![Darryl Latimer]()
Darryl Latimer[/caption]
Following Latimer, the objectors continued their testimony. One retiree, community activist Cecily McClellan, used the last minute of her allotted time before the judge to set the record straight on the water shutoffs.
Noting she had worked five years helping the city’s most vulnerable get help with their water bills, McClellan told the judge the department stopped the water affordability plan suddenly in 2010 and is indeed requiring 30 percent of the past due amount before service is restored, “plus the current amount due.”
The 30 percent requirement is one substantiated by residents leaving the west side DWSD payment center July 8 and by people attending community meetings held around the water issue.
When Rhodes related what Latimer had said earlier, McClellan repeated, “they have to pay 30 percent of the past due bill plus the current balance.”
Rhodes appeared upset over the water issue. He told Latimer, “You are aware your shutoff program has created a lot of anger and hardship, not to mention scores of bad publicity the city doesn’t need? ... It’s hurting the city and this bankruptcy. Is there more the department can do to make the payment plans accessible?”
Latimer said the DWSD was meeting with community groups, and was “asking those with affordability issues to come forward and seek help.”
He said the department had identified several funding sources. When Rhodes asked whether “the need was too high for the resources,” Latimer responded, “We haven’t exhausted the funds.”
The high volume of shutoffs is because “they don’t come forth.”
Latimer told the judge the average delinquency was $540 and had accumulated anywhere from 90 to 120 days. The average bill for a Detroit residential customer is $40 to $50 month.
Shutoffs occur when the past due amount exceeds $150 or the bill is over 60 days past due, Latimer said.
He listed the steps the department was taking — “reaching out to activists; mailing inserts letting you know what we offer; doing different things with the website; using the media as a platform.”
“There is much more you can do, and I encourage you to work with community leaders to come up with a whole list of initiatives,” Rhodes told Latimer as he ordered him to return July 21 at 10 a.m. with initiatives “to resolve this problem.”
In addition, the judge told a Jones Day attorney to have “someone in your office to see this gets resolved.”
By T. Kelly
The Michigan Citizen
DETROIT — Tuesday, July 15, Judge Steven Rhodes heard two versions of how delinquent water bills are treated.
After spending the morning listening to 17 citizens object to Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s plan of adjustment, with some of the complaints and statements telling of the harm being done by the harsh Detroit Water and Sewerage Department cut offs, Rhodes ordered the DWSD to appear that afternoon and provide an explanation for the massive water shutoffs underway in the city since March.
Darryl Latimer, deputy director of the DWSD, appeared at the 2 p.m. session and told the judge delinquent accounts were usually required to pay 30 percent of the past due amount. Rhodes said published reports indicated there was no leniency if users didn’t have the 30 percent. Latimer said the reports were inaccurate; that plans could be worked out without the 30 percent payment.
[caption id="attachment_13124" align="alignright" width="119"]
Darryl Latimer[/caption]
Following Latimer, the objectors continued their testimony. One retiree, community activist Cecily McClellan, used the last minute of her allotted time before the judge to set the record straight on the water shutoffs.
Noting she had worked five years helping the city’s most vulnerable get help with their water bills, McClellan told the judge the department stopped the water affordability plan suddenly in 2010 and is indeed requiring 30 percent of the past due amount before service is restored, “plus the current amount due.”
The 30 percent requirement is one substantiated by residents leaving the west side DWSD payment center July 8 and by people attending community meetings held around the water issue.
When Rhodes related what Latimer had said earlier, McClellan repeated, “they have to pay 30 percent of the past due bill plus the current balance.”
Rhodes appeared upset over the water issue. He told Latimer, “You are aware your shutoff program has created a lot of anger and hardship, not to mention scores of bad publicity the city doesn’t need? ... It’s hurting the city and this bankruptcy. Is there more the department can do to make the payment plans accessible?”
Latimer said the DWSD was meeting with community groups, and was “asking those with affordability issues to come forward and seek help.”
He said the department had identified several funding sources. When Rhodes asked whether “the need was too high for the resources,” Latimer responded, “We haven’t exhausted the funds.”
The high volume of shutoffs is because “they don’t come forth.”
Latimer told the judge the average delinquency was $540 and had accumulated anywhere from 90 to 120 days. The average bill for a Detroit residential customer is $40 to $50 month.
Shutoffs occur when the past due amount exceeds $150 or the bill is over 60 days past due, Latimer said.
He listed the steps the department was taking — “reaching out to activists; mailing inserts letting you know what we offer; doing different things with the website; using the media as a platform.”
“There is much more you can do, and I encourage you to work with community leaders to come up with a whole list of initiatives,” Rhodes told Latimer as he ordered him to return July 21 at 10 a.m. with initiatives “to resolve this problem.”
In addition, the judge told a Jones Day attorney to have “someone in your office to see this gets resolved.”