Detroit scales back drain fees after churches balk
The Detroit Board of Water Commissioners, an unlikely source for divine inspiration, has handed faith leaders in Detroit a theme for Sunday’s sermon: The Lord works in mysterious ways.
The threat of sharply higher bills for stormwater drainage, a fate that looked inevitable just a few weeks ago, washed away during a meeting Wednesday, when the board approved a new plan that lowers the rate escalation and spreads it out over five years, rather than imposing it after one year.
What had promised to be a new fee of $750 per impervious surface acre, something many Detroit churches have in abundance, mostly in the form of roofs and parking lots, was reduced to $125, starting in July 2018. The fee will gradually increase to $677 per acre by 2022. Property owners can lower their bills with so-called green infrastructure to better contain stormwater runoff.
The decision comes just weeks after 100 faith leaders endorsed Mayor Mike Duggan, but city officials said the change followed months of negotiations and efforts to make the process more equitable. The longer timeline will give churches, many of which already struggle with finances, more time to budget and install the green infrastructure that will mitigate the increases, said Gary Brown, director of the city’s Department of Water and Sewerage.
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