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Showing Original Post only (View all)Detroit tells judge: We can't give away free water [View all]
Source: Associated Press
Detroit tells judge: We can't give away free water
By ED WHITE, Associated Press | September 22, 2014 | Updated: September 22, 2014 3:38pm
DETROIT (AP) Detroit's water department defended its shutoff policy Monday and warned that free service to people with unpaid bills could be "very devastating" to the bottom line.
Judge Steven Rhodes set aside Detroit's bankruptcy trial to hear evidence in a controversy that has been boiling all summer. A coalition representing low-income residents is asking him to suspend water shutoffs and restore service to people who have lost it.
The water department would be violating Michigan law and breaking agreements with bondholders if forced to supply water and ignore overdue bills, attorney Sonal Mithani said.
The "humanitarian concerns are very compelling" but fairness is critical, too, Mithani said, noting that 60 percent of Detroit residents are paying for water on time.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Judge-to-hear-sides-in-Detroit-water-shutoffs-5771522.php