Hi all. We had a good community review of the MWRO Water Affordability Program at today's meeting. Our attorneys updated us on the concerns from the Mayor's office and the City's attorneys: again, they want legal assurances that the fees are not taxes, that this plan or any other plan to help low-income people with water can be paid for dollar-for-dollar. There's also a whole public relations-political battle going on alongside this with the Mayor's office and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Dept. They're claiming that this will give the suburbs and politicians in Lansing more ammunition to take over the DWSD by claiming this Water Affordability plan is an attempt to have the suburbs subsidize water for Detroit's poor. See Monday's 3/6/06 Detroit Free Press editorial for more of this: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OPINION01/603060305 Instead, we know that this plan will not cost the suburbs any additional money. It would be paid by and geared at Detroit customers. If suburburban customers want a similar plan (as the Highland Park City Council has already indicated interest in), they can implement one through their own local governments. The Detroit City Council is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning to discuss, again, the Water Rate increases and the Water Affordability Program. The discussions should begin about 10am, and we ask everyone who can attend to be at the Coleman City-County Building 13th floor. (Apologies for the late notice but because there's so much going on we're trying to get out information as soon as we can.) We are absolutely opposed to a water rate increase, especially without the implementation of a Water Affordability Program. Our water expert's data shows that if we implement the Program, we won't need to increase the water rates because more people will pay into the system, there will be fewer defaults, less collection costs, more water conservation, and more. Please contact your representatives and let them know you support the Water Affordability Program! Ken Cockrel, Jr: (313) 224-4505 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Monica Conyers: (313) 224-4530 [EMAIL PROTECTED] JoAnn Watson: (313) 224-4535 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sheila Cockrel: (313) 224-1337 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Barbara-Rose Collins: (313) 224-1298 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kwame Kenyatta: (313) 224-1198 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alberta Tinsley-Talabi: (313) 224-1645 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Martha Reeves (info not on Council website) Brenda Jones: (313) 224-1245 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
