State Rep. Doug Wozniak made the following statement today regarding proposed legislation to increase water rates and create an unnecessary and duplicative statewide water assistance program.

“These bills would add $72 million dollars in new fees to the bills of public water customers, each year,” said Wozniak, R-Shelby Township. “The state already has too many poorly managed and underperforming programs. Macomb County residents are not clamoring for an expensive new program from which they would receive no benefit.”

House Bills 5088-5093 and an identical Senate package, Senate Bills 549 through 554, would create new programs requiring water utility companies to dole out lower bills for select customers. There would be no option for local municipalities to opt out of the new program, overlooking many communities already employing the widely successful Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) that benefits 40% of the state.

Macomb County residents already pay into the successful Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) WRAP program. The GLWA’ WRAP is a two-year program that provides funding to eligible, low-income households to assist with water bills, water conservation, and self-sufficiency initiatives. 

The House and Senate legislative packages were recently introduced and have been referred to committees in their respective chambers.

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