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City council’s split vote leads to a solution for Ishpeming resident

Ishpeming resident Ashley Cody recently posted a picture on Facebook of the water bill for a rental property she owns in the city. The balance due: $18,709. (Journal screenshot)

ISHPEMING — What could have been a catastrophic situation for an Ishpeming couple has been resolved.

The Ishpeming City Council narrowly approved an agreement with Ashley and Matt Cody that would reduce their $18,750 water bill to around $2,500 — the price the city pays for a million gallons of water, Mayor Karl Lehmann said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

“It was debated in both directions,” Lehmann said of the 3-2 vote. “There were good arguments both ways. The city attorney (Bonnie Hoff) did not want us to proceed until we had a policy that we could apply to other situations going forward. She made a compelling argument, but in this case we decided to act otherwise.”

Lehmann said the city had already removed $13,756 in sewer charges from the bill, which was caused by a pipe break in the crawl space of a rental home owned by the Codys that went undetected for two months.

“We had forgiven the sewer portion because it seemed clear to us that the water that was leaking did not end up in our wastewater system,” Lehmann said.

City water customers receive a minimum monthly bill of $95.79, which includes $45.08 for up to 2,500 gallons of water usage; $33.51 for up to 2,500 gallons of sewer usage; and a monthly garbage charge of $17.20, according to documents provided by the city.

If a customer goes over the initial 2,500 gallons built into the base rate, each additional 1,000 gallons used costs another $18.03 with a corresponding sewer charge of $13.40.

Lehmann said it is important for residents to understand their water bills pay for more than each gallon of water that comes out of household taps and disappears down drains, and it’s important to note that the city does not make a profit from water bills.

The charges on the bill pay for the infrastructure that carries clean water to each residence and wastewater away to be safely treated, he said.

“Our water bills aren’t based on just what city pays for water and the wastewater,” Lehmann said.

He said water bills have increased in the last few years due to a state-mandated five-year deficit elimination plan that began in 2016 as well as extensive infrastructure upgrades, which are expected to be finished this year.

“We have to pay millions to upgrade our system,” Lehmann said. “And the state mandated a corrective action plan for all municipalities that were underfunded in their water fund.”

The water project is being funded by a $3 million grant and a 40-year $8.98 million low-interest loan from the United States Department of Agriculture-Rural Development.

A city policy governing catastrophic utility events for customers may still be in the works, Lehmann said, pending action at the state level.

“The state Legislature in both the House and the Senate have introduced resolutions or legislation designed to govern how municipalities and how they handle water bills and shutoffs,” Lehmann said.

A package of bills designed to address water affordability was introduced into the Senate in March that would institute water shutoff protections for low-income segments of the population. A similar bill was introduced in the House in April.

“My thought all along, when I brought this up several months ago, was somebody living on a fixed income with a catastrophic water bill,” Lehmann said. “We will sit back and see what the state does. If they don’t do anything, we will come up with a policy.”

Lisa Bowers can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242.

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