Highland Park Residents Heated Over Water Bill
City Hadn't Billed Residents Since April
POSTED: 10:02 p.m. EST November 5, 2003
UPDATED: 10:12 a.m. EST November 6, 2003
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. -- Imagine opening your water bill and seeing that you owe $900. The city of Highland Park calls it "catching up," but local families are calling it "ridiculous."
Nine months ago, Highland Park -- a Detroit enclave with financial problems -- stopped billing its residents for water. Within the last month, residents started getting their bills again, and the amount shown is not the usual $20 per month.
The water department was the first place to make cuts. In a statement to customers dated Sept. 24, it stated that the "catch up bill is the result of recent lay-offs of water staff, which caused a delay in billing."
The city informed its residents that they would be charged for nine months.
"I really cannot afford to live in Highland Park anymore," resident Valerie Johnson said.
Because no one in Highland Park has received a water bill since April, lot of residents wondered if they really owe what the bill says.
John Thompson, 69, lives alone and owes $700. "I didn't think I could use that much water," he said.
The city says they will provide customers with a payment plan, if needed, but Johnson and Thompson say they never remember the bill being so high. They say they were paying just about $30 a month before this bill.
"I refuse to pay because the water bill is incorrect," Thompson said.
He claims that in the past, the city billed him using the wrong address, and when he went to correct it, he waited in line for hours to finally find out he paid for both addresses. Now, the city won't answer his questions.
Local 4 tried to talk to the emergency financial manager, but was told she was in a meeting for the day.
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