VBT Trustee Brenda McClanahan issues call to arms on DUWA

At the July 7 meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, Trustee Brenda McClanahan read the following report to her fellow board members on the serious situation at the Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority (DUWA).
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In February 2015, the DUWA board was slated to have a meeting with Wayne County’s executive office to discuss an amended service agreement, since the prior agreement with the county had expired in 2012. The county gave its approval of the drafting of the new agreement last year.
The CEO Warren Evans had planned to discuss the issue of creating a Joint Management Board which would give each community a vote in the management of the water and sewage treatment operation as it pertains to their community. This new service agreement would have been authorized under Public Act 8 of 1967 in the State of Michigan.
The above-mentioned meeting never materialized and all attempts to reschedule with the CEO’s office were rebuffed. On June 17, 2015, a front-page article stated that Wayne County’s Executive Warren Evans was opening his financial records to the State of Michigan in the hope that they will assist him in entering into a consent agreement under the Emergency Manager Act of 2012. The act protects the financial responsibility of governments and school districts. However, it does not necessarily protect the assets from being liquidated. In a recent Detroit News article, Wayne County has a deficit of over $52 million.
The urgency at this point is to have a meeting with the County Executive Warren Evans and the State of Michigan. There is a real concern that there will be no segregation of the DSDS assets and funds and they will be treated as assets that can be liquidated to pay off the county’s liabilities. This has the potential to result in substantially higher rates for all our residents in the County of Wayne.
Back in the 1980s, a federal consent judgment was entered into with Wayne County and the 13 communities were named as co-defendants because the treatment plant and sewage system was deficient and overdue on upgrades in accordance with the 1972 Federal Clean Water Act.
Capital improvements of nearly $300 million were financed by the aforementioned 13 downriver communities. So as you see, “We’ve already paid for the system,” per our Treasurer Sharry Budd. After shouldering the heavy costs to our residents, a demand was made by DUWA to have a role in the management issues as they relate to our communities.
So, this is a call to arms for our board members to join with other board members of DUWA and demand that we be included in conversations and decisions in this endeavor.
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At the July 7 meeting, DPW Director James Taylor, who is the township’s DUWA representative, told the board that this is a serious situation.
“This is an asset for which we have paid. It’s a travesty that a public entity will use this to pay off a debt we don’t owe,” Taylor said.
He said a meeting is coming up on July 16 with Judge Kaufman there along with the deputy director of Wayne County.
“We would like to get control of the system and need to find out what that transfer would cost. We have a number in mind and the county has its number in mind,” Taylor said, pointing out Wayne County has its share of problems.