Van Buren Twp.: No water/sewer rate increases again this year

For the second year in a row, the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees approved Water and Sewer Rates with no increases for the coming fiscal year.
At its 12-minute meeting on Oct. 4 the board was told by Water and Sewer Department Director Kevin Lawrence that there will be zero increase for water or sewer.
Supervisor Kevin McNamara said this is the second year in a row. He said they haven’t have a chance to go out and maintain the system because of COVID and trouble getting permits. If they can’t spend the money for maintenance, they won’t charge the people.
The meeting was not on YouTube and was not being streamed because a key piece of electronic equipment went down and they have to wait for it to come, according to an explanation by Supervisor McNamara. He said the meeting was on zoom and so they will be able to put it on YouTube and elsewhere from that copy of the meeting once the equipment is fixed.
He asked everyone to use their “outdoor voices” since the microphones weren’t working.
In other business at the Oct. 4 meeting, the board:
• Approved the department fee schedules as presented, effective Jan. 1. Deputy Supervisor Dan Selman said this is the first step in approval of the annual budget. He said the public hearing for the budget will probably be at the next meeting. Each department’s 2023 projected revenues is based on these fee schedules, McNamara said in a memo to the board. The six changes were listed in a board memo;
• Approved lumping the new county grant with the old grant for French Landing Park improvements in an updated Intergovernmental Agreement with Wayne County Parks, as recommended by Elizabeth Renaud, director of community services. The amendment increases the grant from $64,277 to $99,261. The agreement also includes the size, wording, and other specifications for a sign that identifies it as a Wayne County Parks grant project;
• Removed from the agenda the personal service agreement of Yousef Saleh for the Desktop Support in Information Technology position. McNamara said the agreement fell apart earlier that day which was supposed to be his first day on the job. McNamara said Saleh said he can’t begin work until 10 o’clock every day because of family obligations. “We can’t have that,” McNamara said. Saleh is currently a student at Henry Ford College getting his degree in CIS-Cybersecurity. He has worked as an intern at the City of Dearborn and gained relevant experience for this new position. In his previous position he was the Level 1 Technical Support for 1,500-plus employees with 35 connected locations;
• Heard Clerk Leon Wright say October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He pointed out he was wearing a pink shirt;
• Was advised that the Denton Road Bridge was closed by Wayne County because it was unsafe for travel;
• Was informed that township resident Barbara Carrico wrote a letter thanking Treasurer Sharry Budd and Community Service employee Beverly Porter for going above and beyond to assist her with getting a prescription delivered. Also, Police Officer Ryan Bidwell was thanked in a letter by a motorist stranded on the side of the road who said Officer Bidwell went the “VERY-EXTRA” mile to help them obtain a tow truck; and
• Heard Treasurer Budd make a motion for adjournment, with Trustee Don Boynton seconding. McNamara said the motion is non-debatable and the meeting was adjourned.