Grosse Pointe City

Water, sewer rates go up slightly in City

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

GROSSE POINTE CITY — Like residents in many other metro Detroit communities, those in the City will be paying more for water starting this summer.

Unlike a lot of their neighbors, however, the increase is in the single — not double — digits.

Grosse Pointe City purchases water from Grosse Pointe Farms, which has its own water treatment plant. It receives sewage disposal from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. According to a memo from Finance Director/Treasurer Kimberly Kleinow, average homeowners can expect their quarterly bill to increase by $8.61, or 5.4 percent over the previous year. The typical customer uses 25 units of water per quarter, she said.

At a May 21 City Council meeting, Kleinow said the readiness to serve charge is only experiencing a “modest increase,” from $8.79 to $8.83, because they’ve kept operating costs down.

The biggest area of increase is in debt service, which is rising from a rate of $10.35 to $15.87. Kleinow attributed that rate hike to the need for additional water and sewer funds to cover repairs and other work on the aging system. That’s expected to increase again in the coming years as the City tackles major projects, she said.

Decreasing water use has led to increases in the per-unit charges in most cities for water because of the need to maintain the infrastructure and other basic costs.

City Council member Donald Parthum Jr., who made the motion to approve the rate increases, said they were doing so in compliance with state law. The council unanimously approved the changes, which take effect at the beginning of the 2012-13 fiscal year on July 1.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.