|
Judge
won't
stop
Detroit
water
shutoffs
By ED
WHITE
Associated
Press
DETROIT
- The
judge
overseeing
Detroit's
bankruptcy
refused
Monday
to stop
the city
from
shutting
off
water if
people
can't
pay
their
bill,
saying
there's
no right
to water
and the
law
doesn't
him the
power to
keep the
taps
open
anyway.
Judge
Steven
Rhodes
gave
critics
of the
shutoffs
a
two-day
hearing
last
week. He
said
their
arguments
were
"interesting
and
creative"
but
couldn't
trump
the
legal
standard
under
bankruptcy
law or
constitutional
law - or
the
potential
harm to
Detroit's
perilous
finances.
"Detroit
cannot
afford
any
revenue
slippage,"
the
judge
said.
"It
cannot
be
doubted
that
water is
a
necessary
ingredient
to
sustaining
life,"
said
Rhodes,
but that
doesn't
mean
"there
is an
enforceable
right to
free and
affordable
water."
Nearly
22,000
homes
lost
water
due to
shutoffs
from
March
through
August,
according
to the
water
department,
though
15,251
had
service
restored
in that
same
period.
The city
stopped
shutoffs
in July
for more
than 30
days
after
Rhodes
said
they
were
causing
anger
and bad
publicity.
Protesters
marched,
and even
the
United
Nations
criticized
Detroit.
Mayor
Mike
Duggan
responded
by
offering
a
two-year
payment
plan,
starting
with a
10
percent
down
payment,
for
people
weeks
behind
on bills
of more
than
$150.
Roughly
30,000
customers
now are
enrolled.
Rhodes
called
the
payment
plan
"bold"
and
"commendable"
but said
it
probably
wouldn't
rescue
all
residents
with
chronically
low
income.
Indeed,
that was
the
argument
of
opponents,
who said
homes
without
water -
especially
if
children
or
ailing
senior
citizens
live
there -
should
be
considered
a public
health
emergency.
Alice
Jennings,
an
attorney
representing
people
who have
lost
water,
said she
was
considering
an
appeal
of
Rhodes'
decision
to U.S.
District
Court.
She had
asked
for a
six-month
suspension
of water
shutoffs
and
restoration
to
anyone
dry
since
April.
"This
relief
solves
no
long-term
problems
for
customers,"
Rhodes
said.
"It must
be a
means to
an end.
But what
is that
end?"
Outside
court,
the
reaction
was
sharp.
The Rev.
Charles
Williams
II
accused
the
judge of
being
"morally
inept."
Another
activist,
Marian
Kramer,
said
Rhodes
doesn't
understand
the
needs of
"people
who are
starving."
"No one
has said
these
folks
should
have
free
water.
We said
we
should
have an
affordable
price,"
Williams
said. |