The city of Benton Harbor is now requiring its water customers to pay their bills, about four years after a shutoff moratorium was put in place.
Some residents have reported receiving shutoff notices for the past week, shortly after city commissioners agreed it was time to start collecting bills again. However, Mayor Marcus Muhammad tells us when a customer gets a shutoff notice, they have options.
“It reads in the fine print that we’re encouraging residents to call the water payment system or come in to set up a payment plan, which will prevent any shutoff,” Muhammad said. “So, that’s our hope and desire, that residents who are in delinquency set up that payment plan.”
Muhammad says the city in the past four years has granted credits adding up to $1,000 to each water customer as work was done to replace lead water lines. Now that the work is finished, the water is safe to drink.
Muhammad says the city is still giving people payment plans of anywhere from three to 12 months to get caught up on what they owe. Customers should call the water payment system to get squared away.
“It’s a plan that we wanted to approach from a restorative standpoint as opposed to punitive. However, we do need compliance, which is why we’re asking for residents to take that step.”
Muhammad said the city can no longer afford to pay for the water of those who aren’t paying their bill. It’s used the last of its ARPA funds and is still facing an administrative consent order from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to demonstrate it can sustain its water system. That’s why people simply have to pay again.
