By Sara Jerome,

@sarmje

The city that endangered residents by serving up lead-contaminated water will soon resume a controversial practice designed to compel delinquent customers to pay up: water shutoffs.

The Detroit Free Press recently reported that Flint Chief Financial Officer David Sabuda disclosed that shutoffs will resume by the spring.

“Sabuda said the city will continue to work closely with residents and businesses to prevent shutoffs, providing for payment plans for those who can't pay their current balance, plus 10 percent of any prior outstanding balance, as required each month. There are opportunities for payment plans and appeals, and the city is also working with nonprofit organizations that can help delinquent customers, he said. Also, no customer will lose water bill credits already issued to them,” the Free Press reported, citing Sabuda.

Michigan officials informed Flint that the state plans to stop subsidizing water bills, according to a statement from the city of Flint. Residents protested at city hall, chanting “we don’t pay for poison water,” according to Michigan Radio.

“The credits, which covered water usage since April, 2014, paid 65 percent on residential and 20 percent on commercial accounts,” East Village Magazine reported. Credits will end on February 28.

“Sabuda said there isn’t a direct link between the end of the state credits and the resumption of water shutoffs, except that the end of the credits makes it even more important for Flint to collect the water payments businesses and residents owe, while at the same time making it harder for many customers to make those payments,” the Free Press reported.

Sabuda said the city is in the process of making a list of ratepayers who would qualify for shutoffs. "We are going to follow the law," he said, per the report.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Michigan officials are at odds over whether Flint’s water can be called safe.

“The governor said Flint water meets federal quality standards and is as safe as any city in Michigan. The mayor disagrees,” Fox 2 reported.

Weaver said, per the report: "I'm not going to tell anybody to drink the water without a filter."

In nearby Detroit, the use of water shutoffs prompted the United Nations to say the city was violating human rights.

For more on utility billing visit Water Online’s Funding Solutions Center.