INKSTER, Mich. – High water bills have been a source of confusion and anger in Inkster for years, and residents have been expressing it – on social media and in the streets.
And it appears to only be getting worse.
“I guess they must have raised the rate that they charge per unit that you use,” Eric Goldston, who has seen his water bills skyrocket, said. “That’s the only thing I could figure”
Eric and his wife, Geneva Goldston, have lived at their house on Andover St. in Inkster for 46 years.
Starting last July, their water bills suddenly spiked from $77 per month to $284, and eventually ballooned to $825, due on Dec. 31.
Local 4 first spoke with them at their home in October.
“We don’t use any extra water,” Geneva, 75, said on Oct. 22, 2025. “It’s just the two of us. There are no children, no grandchildren that live here.
“We don’t water our grass,” she added. “I’m very concerned. How are we going to do this?”
Since we spoke with the Goldstons, that number has nearly doubled to over $1,600.
The trouble started when the city started doing sewage pipe work last summer, which led to the installation of new water meters. Soon thereafter, the bills began spiking.
“I just wonder if we are paying for this work they’re doing,” Eric, 73, said.
The city has been billing people bi-monthly since July, but the 2-month rates have far exceeded normal rates.
Dan Taylor was walking into Inkster City Hall on Thursday (Jan. 8) with a check for a partial payment on his bi-monthly bill, which typically averages about $80 per month.
The total on his current bill: $514.
“How did it jump to $514 in one month? What am I doing?” Taylor said. “I ain’t running no zoo over there. I ain’t feeding no animals!”
Victoria Hawthorne was walking in to pay her bill on Thursday and said that the city has not been helpful or forthcoming in explaining why water rates have been inconsistently high. She added that she has experienced hostility at times while seeking answers.
“They will yell at you,” Hawthorne said on Thursday outside of City Hall. “They act like they want to beat your a--.”
The high water bills have become a source of confusion and downright anger.
Local 4 reached out to Inkster’s public service director, Jerome Bivins, back in October.
Not long before we arrived at the Goldstons’, someone from the department arrived at their home asking to check their meter.
Bivins later directed us to a statement from Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen.
“The issue stems from an error during the migration of previous account data,” the statement says, adding that it will “permanently solve the issue of incorrect balances and errors” once it’s done.
The city also said that they’re suspending all late fees and have told residents not pay an inaccurate bill until the city corrects the meter readings and gets the correct balances squared away.
The issue is that people like the Goldstons have been told that they would be settled by the end of 2025.
Eric now says he was told it would be March before things are fixed, leaving them and others in a bad position.
“There will be another bill coming out, and God knows what it’s going to be,” Geneva said. “My God, if it’s this high now, what’s going to happen in two months and two months from now?”