Flint Mayor Karen Weaver on Monday criticized the Snyder administration's decision to no longer help residents and the city with their water bills, a move that will save the state more than $2 million per month.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state announced three weeks ago that it will stop paying a portion of customers' bills and also halt covering Flint's costs to use water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. The Detroit-area system has been supplying the city in the wake of its man-made public health crisis that resulted in lead-contaminated tap water.
Weaver said the customer credits were supposed to continue through March and she is disappointed by the "short notice" that they will last instead through February. She said during a news conference at city hall that while her goal is to get "the state out" of Flint, "we weren't ready for credits to be suspended. ...We were looking for the credit to continue."
Weaver's office said late Monday that she will discuss her concerns with Snyder on Tuesday at a meeting in Lansing. His office reiterated that the payments will end because the city's overall lead level is no longer exceeding the federal limit. People are still urged to use faucet filters, however, that are being provided at state expense.