Mayoral 'Control' of DWSD Does Not Change Demand for Moratorium
Water solidarity continues amid announcement of extension of shut-off pause to Aug. 25
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
During the week of July 25 new developments took place around the struggle for water in Detroit.
State-appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr announced through an executive order that corporate-oriented Mayor Mike Duggan would be placed in operational charge of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept. (DWSD) on July 29.
Later on Aug. 4, the DWSD announced that a moratorium previously announced would be extended to Aug. 28. Orr has come under local, national and international criticism for authorizing the massive shut-offs of water services impacting 17,000 households throughout the city.
On July 21 in federal bankruptcy court presided over by Judge Steven Rhodes, the DWSD Deputy Director Darryl Latimer announced a 15-day pause in the termination of services in order to supposedly “better inform” the public of programs available to assist consumers.
Executive Order 31 issued by Orr reads in part that “This order provides additional clarity to the powers already delegated to the Mayor. This order ensures a common focus on customer service and sound management practices that reflects the city’s commitment to refocusing its efforts to help DWSD customers get and remain current on their water bills.”
A statement from Duggan indicates that they will continue to cut off water. There was no plan to turn people’s water back on who have had their services terminated.
Duggan in a statement posted on Facebook says that “There are funds available to support those who cannot afford their bills — we need to do a much better job in community outreach to tell our residents how to access those funds. We will be developing a plan that allows those who are truly needy to access financial help and allows those who want to make payment arrangements to do so with shorter wait times. As for those who can pay and choose not to, we won’t force other Detroiters to pay their bills.”
Such a statement does nothing to actually demonstrate that the DWSD policy of attacking Detroit’s already beleaguered neighborhoods through massive terminations of water services will change qualitatively. A so-called “water affordability fair” was held on Aug. 2 at the east side payment center on East McNichols.
Hundreds lined up outside the DWSD payment center beginning early that morning. The police presence was heavy at the location where officers sat in cars at every corner, mounted patrolmen road horses through the streets and an armored vehicle was stationed in a vacant lot adjacent to the DWSD facility.
Several community groups were present outside the building as well including the Moratorium NOW! Coalition, the People’s Water Board, The Detroit Water Brigade and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization.
In speaking with many of the community residents who visited the DWSD offices seeking help there were mixed responses. Some said that the new policy requesting a ten percent down payment on outstanding bills was an improvement from previous demands of at least 30 percent.
Others said that there was no assistance for them. Many people went in to challenge the veracity of the bills they had received.
Poverty Not Addressed by the Ruling Elites
Many who sought the much talked about assistance from social service agencies found that it was virtually non-existent. The DWSD says that there are $89 million in past due bills that they are attempting to collect.
Approximately half of this amount is due from residential accounts. Nonetheless, public statements indicating that there is anywhere between $1-4 million available in assistance cannot address the magnitude of the demand from consumers.
Detroit has a substantial portion of its residents living in poverty. The overall decline in wages, unemployment and underemployment are rife throughout the city.
There are no plans on the part of the emergency management system and the so-called “Plan of Adjustment” before the bankruptcy court to develop any programs to create jobs and bring people out of poverty. Nonetheless, corporations are given huge tax breaks to acquire properties and build entertainment districts that will not benefit the majority of working people and the poor.
One woman had a bill of $2,100 and was being threatened with shut-off. She was demanding a hearing before the Board of Water Commissioners before she would make arrangements for payment.
A number of people said their water services had been shut-off for weeks, even months. Some who were shut-off were able to make arrangements for their services to be turned back on, others were not.
Moratorium NOW! Coalition activists leafleted the crowd and recruited people who were ready to fight to join actions aimed at winning an indefinite halt to the termination of services. A class-action lawsuit was filed on July 21 in federal bankruptcy court involving victims of the shut-offs and four community organizations: Moratorium NOW! Coalition, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, the People’s Water Board and the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network.
National Solidarity Continues
A delegation from West Virginia delivered two tons of water to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on July 29. At the DWSD water fair on Aug. 2, this writer spoke with another delegation from Salt Lake City, Utah which was also making deliveries of water.
These noble efforts can in no way meet the demands for water needed in Detroit but represent acts of solidarity which further expose the failure of emergency management in the city.
Freedom Friday on Aug. 1 at the DWSD headquarters enjoyed additional support from the local activists in solidarity with injured Colombian GM workers as well as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which was having a national congress at Wayne State University over the weekend.
Despite the announcement of a moratorium on shut-offs, reports indicate that people are still being terminated under the guise of "illegal usage." Many have turned the water back on after shutoffs using keys of former DWSD employees.
Palmer Park Apts. had their services shutoff under the notion that it represented a "commercial" structure and not residential, even though hundreds live in the building on the north side of the city.
Although Mayor Duggan has acknowledged that the billing system of the DWSD is in disarray, he has not addressed the impact of the interest-rate swap terminations in the last two years which have taken $537 million out of the system for the enrichment of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Loop Financial. Moratorium NOW! Coalition opposes efforts taking place to privatize the operations of the DWSD.
Duggan, who privatized the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) when he was the CEO of the previous non-profit organization, will in all likelihood lead efforts to do the same with the DWSD. People in the city are opposing such efforts because there is no reason to privatize the system other than profit.
By regulation the DWSD cannot run a deficit. It is a revenue-generating system that utilizes the publicly-owned department which is surrounded by 20 percent of the world’s fresh water supplies.
The struggle for water is part and parcel of the overall movement against emergency management that has prompted the cancellation of healthcare programs for municipal retirees and is threatening deep pension cuts to over 32,000 people and their families. Conditions for the people in the city of Detroit have worsened over the last 17 months since Orr was appointed by Gov. Snyder.
In addition to the massive termination of water resources, the areas of public transportation, lighting, public safety, the maintenance of streets and other municipal services have deteriorated. Only a mass outpouring of dissent involving large sections of the working class can effectively push back the mad drive towards privatization including the theft of pensions.
Water solidarity continues amid announcement of extension of shut-off pause to Aug. 25
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
During the week of July 25 new developments took place around the struggle for water in Detroit.
State-appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr announced through an executive order that corporate-oriented Mayor Mike Duggan would be placed in operational charge of the Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept. (DWSD) on July 29.
Later on Aug. 4, the DWSD announced that a moratorium previously announced would be extended to Aug. 28. Orr has come under local, national and international criticism for authorizing the massive shut-offs of water services impacting 17,000 households throughout the city.
On July 21 in federal bankruptcy court presided over by Judge Steven Rhodes, the DWSD Deputy Director Darryl Latimer announced a 15-day pause in the termination of services in order to supposedly “better inform” the public of programs available to assist consumers.
Executive Order 31 issued by Orr reads in part that “This order provides additional clarity to the powers already delegated to the Mayor. This order ensures a common focus on customer service and sound management practices that reflects the city’s commitment to refocusing its efforts to help DWSD customers get and remain current on their water bills.”
A statement from Duggan indicates that they will continue to cut off water. There was no plan to turn people’s water back on who have had their services terminated.
Duggan in a statement posted on Facebook says that “There are funds available to support those who cannot afford their bills — we need to do a much better job in community outreach to tell our residents how to access those funds. We will be developing a plan that allows those who are truly needy to access financial help and allows those who want to make payment arrangements to do so with shorter wait times. As for those who can pay and choose not to, we won’t force other Detroiters to pay their bills.”
Such a statement does nothing to actually demonstrate that the DWSD policy of attacking Detroit’s already beleaguered neighborhoods through massive terminations of water services will change qualitatively. A so-called “water affordability fair” was held on Aug. 2 at the east side payment center on East McNichols.
Hundreds lined up outside the DWSD payment center beginning early that morning. The police presence was heavy at the location where officers sat in cars at every corner, mounted patrolmen road horses through the streets and an armored vehicle was stationed in a vacant lot adjacent to the DWSD facility.
Several community groups were present outside the building as well including the Moratorium NOW! Coalition, the People’s Water Board, The Detroit Water Brigade and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization.
In speaking with many of the community residents who visited the DWSD offices seeking help there were mixed responses. Some said that the new policy requesting a ten percent down payment on outstanding bills was an improvement from previous demands of at least 30 percent.
Others said that there was no assistance for them. Many people went in to challenge the veracity of the bills they had received.
Poverty Not Addressed by the Ruling Elites
Many who sought the much talked about assistance from social service agencies found that it was virtually non-existent. The DWSD says that there are $89 million in past due bills that they are attempting to collect.
Approximately half of this amount is due from residential accounts. Nonetheless, public statements indicating that there is anywhere between $1-4 million available in assistance cannot address the magnitude of the demand from consumers.
Detroit has a substantial portion of its residents living in poverty. The overall decline in wages, unemployment and underemployment are rife throughout the city.
There are no plans on the part of the emergency management system and the so-called “Plan of Adjustment” before the bankruptcy court to develop any programs to create jobs and bring people out of poverty. Nonetheless, corporations are given huge tax breaks to acquire properties and build entertainment districts that will not benefit the majority of working people and the poor.
One woman had a bill of $2,100 and was being threatened with shut-off. She was demanding a hearing before the Board of Water Commissioners before she would make arrangements for payment.
A number of people said their water services had been shut-off for weeks, even months. Some who were shut-off were able to make arrangements for their services to be turned back on, others were not.
Moratorium NOW! Coalition activists leafleted the crowd and recruited people who were ready to fight to join actions aimed at winning an indefinite halt to the termination of services. A class-action lawsuit was filed on July 21 in federal bankruptcy court involving victims of the shut-offs and four community organizations: Moratorium NOW! Coalition, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, the People’s Water Board and the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network.
National Solidarity Continues
A delegation from West Virginia delivered two tons of water to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on July 29. At the DWSD water fair on Aug. 2, this writer spoke with another delegation from Salt Lake City, Utah which was also making deliveries of water.
These noble efforts can in no way meet the demands for water needed in Detroit but represent acts of solidarity which further expose the failure of emergency management in the city.
Freedom Friday on Aug. 1 at the DWSD headquarters enjoyed additional support from the local activists in solidarity with injured Colombian GM workers as well as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which was having a national congress at Wayne State University over the weekend.
Despite the announcement of a moratorium on shut-offs, reports indicate that people are still being terminated under the guise of "illegal usage." Many have turned the water back on after shutoffs using keys of former DWSD employees.
Palmer Park Apts. had their services shutoff under the notion that it represented a "commercial" structure and not residential, even though hundreds live in the building on the north side of the city.
Although Mayor Duggan has acknowledged that the billing system of the DWSD is in disarray, he has not addressed the impact of the interest-rate swap terminations in the last two years which have taken $537 million out of the system for the enrichment of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Loop Financial. Moratorium NOW! Coalition opposes efforts taking place to privatize the operations of the DWSD.
Duggan, who privatized the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) when he was the CEO of the previous non-profit organization, will in all likelihood lead efforts to do the same with the DWSD. People in the city are opposing such efforts because there is no reason to privatize the system other than profit.
By regulation the DWSD cannot run a deficit. It is a revenue-generating system that utilizes the publicly-owned department which is surrounded by 20 percent of the world’s fresh water supplies.
The struggle for water is part and parcel of the overall movement against emergency management that has prompted the cancellation of healthcare programs for municipal retirees and is threatening deep pension cuts to over 32,000 people and their families. Conditions for the people in the city of Detroit have worsened over the last 17 months since Orr was appointed by Gov. Snyder.
In addition to the massive termination of water resources, the areas of public transportation, lighting, public safety, the maintenance of streets and other municipal services have deteriorated. Only a mass outpouring of dissent involving large sections of the working class can effectively push back the mad drive towards privatization including the theft of pensions.
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