DURAND MAYOR KEN MCDONOUGH (left) and Durand City Manager Cameron Horvath are shown on Monday, Dec. 20, following a discussion on the water and sewer rate increases planned for July 2022.
(Independent Photo/Karen Mead-Elford)
Durand property owners and a few Vernon Township property owners will see an increase for water and sewer services beginning July 1, 2022. An independent, third-party accounting firm (Baker Tilly) researched the city of Durand and provided an analysis on water and sewer infrastructure and all related processes – and recommended the increase to the city based on need.
An average Durand property owner with a water/sewer bill totaling around $113 per month will see an increase to approximately $134 per month – or roughly $21 more per month. Along with Durand, 38 property owners in Vernon Township are facing an increase for services, too. Thirteen Vernon Township residents utilize both water and sewer services from Durand, while eight residents use sewer only and 17 residents use water only.
Durand Mayor Ken McDonough, who previously managed the water department and understands the ins-and-outs of water infrastructure, along with Durand City Manager Cameron Horvath, took time out of their busy schedules on Monday, Dec. 20 to offer an explanation on why the rate increase is needed.
Like many municipalities in Michigan, Durand has large sections of water and sewer infrastructure that is very old, including some old cast iron water mains that have become brittle and/or cracked with time. Add to that mix, in recent years, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has new requirements in place regarding water/sewer infrastructure and the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which now directly calls for replacement of water lines between residential property and the street – and the entire water/sewer service system needs major work. With major work comes major expense.
McDonough and Horvath offered that city authorities have tried time and again to apply for state grants to assist with projects, but have been repeatedly denied, perhaps given the rural setting of Durand. Instead, Durand has often been offered low interest loans, but as the accounting research shows, the city needs to be conscientious in taking advantage of any more low interest loans to avoid incurring more long term debt.
Of course, city leaders are constantly aware of residents in the community that are fixed-income, low-income or disadvantaged households. In recent years, the city has cautiously increased water and sewer rates by three to five percent per year, which is relatively standard. The recent third-party analysis has demonstrated that the annual increase is not enough going forward to maintain services with consideration given to a still functioning, but often old, water/sewer infrastructural system and the Lead and Copper Rule.
During the mid-November meeting at city hall, city council members discussed methods to assist the public in understanding information related to rate increases. The discussion will continue at the next council meeting. Residents are encouraged to reach out to McDonough or Horvath with any questions and/or concerns in the meantime.
“We’ve preliminarily talked about things we want to do as far as raising awareness,” Horvath said. “Some of the things we’ve talked about is like having a town hall style meeting where maybe a few members of council and myself would be available, along with some of the DPW folks. We could have different time slots, people could come in and ask questions.”
“As a council, we just want to be open to the people,” McDonough stated.
The city of Durand and downtown area has seen a number of positives in 2021 and will likely continue to do so in 2022. In 2021, Horvath joined the Durand team; the Durand Community Garden, Durand Beautification Project/Edible Landscape Program was a success; a number of new businesses opened; the South Side Construction and Street Improvement Project has been and will continue to be a community boon; the city recently entered into a purchase agreement for 14 lots of Creek Point Circle – to list just a few.
