INKSTER, Mich. – They poured into the local recreation center Thursday night by the dozens.
Hundreds of Inkster homeowners are fed up and ready to take legal action against the city over alarmingly high water bills.
Read more: Inkster residents seek class-action suit over water bills
"I can tell you how to respond to what they've done to you. You can fight it. And you can fight it through a class-action lawsuit," said Sandra Watley, of the Inkster Citizen Action Network.
With the backing of Watley's community group, the residents now have a lawyer to help push their case.
"I think either the public officials don't know or they don't want to know," said attorney Byron Nolen.
Inkster has been flooded with water complaints for the past two years. Blame has been placed on everything from city debt to new water meters and an increase in water rates. But it's not enough to explain how a bill can go from $200 to $6,000 in just three months.
"I've been waiting two months for a response for them to come to my house and fix this, and nobody will come and nobody will return my calls," said Terry Trahey, of Inkster.
For many, answers and help have been hard to come by. That could change.
"What you have to do is something to alleviate the problem, and since they won't listen to you, maybe they'll listen to the court," said Watley.
The class-action lawsuit could be filed in a couple of weeks. The group also asked the Attorney General's office to investigate.