Sheldon Futernick sues Sumpter Twp. for over-billings on water, sewer

Sheldon Futernick, owner of two mobile home parks in Sumpter Township — Holiday West at 50333 Willis Rd. and Holiday Woods at 20749 Martinsville Rd. — has filed suit against Sumpter saying the township is overbilling his parks for sewer and water service.
The complaint was filed Feb. 4 in Wayne County Circuit Court and was assigned to Judge Leslie Kim Smith as case number 19-001611-CZ. The amount sought exceeds $25,000.
Sumpter has 21 days to respond.
Futernick’s attorney is Stephen T. McKenney of the lawfirm of Neuman Anderson Grieco & McKenney of Birmingham.
According to the complaint, Sumpter maintains the “publicly owned treatment works” which operate the water and sewer systems servicing the township. The township is served by YCUA (Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority) for its sewer service and is granted authority by township ordinance to manage, install, and maintain the wastewater system.
Sumpter Township is directly charged by YCUA for the services that it provides to the township and the fees charged by YCUA to the township are significantly less than the township charges Holiday West and Holiday Woods for sewer services, the complaint states.
Sumpter ordinance requires all properties connect to the public sewer that are within 200 feet of a township sewer line. However, while Sumpter has enforced this ordinance against Holiday West and Holiday Woods, the township has not enforced this ordinance against other similarly situated mobile home parks in the township, the complaint states.
On Feb. 13, 2018, Sumpter passed Resolution 2018-6 which increased water and sewer rates and capital benefit charges and allowed the township board to unilaterally require a separate sewer flow meter be installed for any mobile home park, commercial, or industrial user for customer billing.
Sumpter required Holiday West to have a separate sewage flow meter that purports to measure the water and sewer usage by Holiday West. Holiday Woods, however, has only a water meter on its property, the complaint said.
The meter installed by the township on the Holiday West property is unusual in that is an outflow meter that is designed to solely measure the outflow of liquid and not its inflow, the complaint said. So, the meter only measures the water leaving Holiday West.
The property on which Holiday West sits is more than 200 acres and measuring all outbound water flow from such a large property does not accurately measure the water and sewer use of Holiday West, the complaint states.
The complaint states the sewer and water charges that Sumpter charged the two mobile home parks were inconsistent with the township’s ordinances and resolutions setting fees for those services.
The complaint also states the township ordinances and resolutions setting sewer and water rates and classifications have the following attributes:
• They were designed to single out Futernick’s properties and treat them differently than all other properties in the township, including treating them differently than other mobile home parks;
• They were designed to raise general revenue for the township and not to recoup fees for specific services; and
• They raise significantly more in revenue for the township than the cost of the service, as applied to Futernick and his Holiday West and Holiday Woods properties.
The complaint states Sumpter charges Holiday West and Holiday Woods for more water and sewer usage than either property actually uses.
Sumpter continues to overcharge these properties and to place those overcharges on property tax bills for the properties.
The complaint has three counts: Unjust Enrichment, Violation of Constitutional Right to Equal Protection, and Violation of the Headlee Amendment.