Michigan officials say Flint appears to be ignoring tens of millions of dollars in federal and state funds available to cover lead service line replacement following the city's lead-tainted water crisis.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality sent a letter Wednesday to the city's chief financial officer, Hughey Newsome. The state agency says Flint has only drawn 17 percent of the $167 million available since 2017 for the city to improve its water system.
State officials say Flint's neglect of the funding comes as city officials are telling contractors they don't have enough money to pay for more than a partial contract.
Newsome says the delays in reimbursement requests are due to staffing shortages.
The state agency gave Flint an Aug. 10 deadline to submit all reimbursement requests for work completed prior to June.
