Highland Park Residents Shocked By Walloping Water Bills
HIGHLAND PARK (WWJ) - Some Highland Park homeowners are opening their mailboxes to an unwelcome surprise: water bills that range into the hundreds to even thousands of dollars.
It's been about a year since Highland Park residents have received a water bill, and the big bills reportedly come with a warning from the city -- pay at least a quarter of the amount owed by February 1, or else.
Highland Park homeowners talking to WWJ Newsradio 950 said they went a long time wondering why they weren't getting their water bills. Now they want to know why the one that finally arrived is so high.
"Believe it or not, they need to get their office in order first of all, because some people who work in their office ... they need to start there and then they need to go about doing things a little bit better," said resident Dale Buck. "I got one that's very high -- it's about 600 bucks and I haven't even been in my house a good few months."
Said another Highland Park resident, Joe Benefield and, "The mayor said, you know, he was gonna talk to people down at City Hall, so, I guess we'll see."
Benefield said the high water bill isn't the only thing that stinks. He said sometimes the water itself has what he can only describe as "an odor" -- and it's often brownish -- which he attributes to rust, but he's not entirely sure.
Last December, Highland Park city leaders announced the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department would be taking over water services in Highland Park.
