Holland Reporter

City of Pleasant Ridge issued the following announcement on Sept 15.

Save the Date: Tuesday, October 5 at 7 pm at 4 Ridge Road

Please join us on October 5 at the Community Center if you have questions, or would like to learn more about the Water Infrastructure Millage that is on the November ballot. Please note that due to increasing COVID cases, masks will be required.

The City will briefly present key information about the millage, and staff will be available to answer any questions you have about the water infrastructure project and millage.

Fact sheets with extensive information about the millage and the water infrastructure project are available on the City website at www.cityofpleasantridge.org/water if you would like full details about the project and how it can be paid for.

We hope to see you on the 5th if you have questions about the millage. You can also contact Jim Breuckman, City Manager at 248-541-2901 or citymanager@cityofpleasantridge.org with any questions or comments about the millage or water infrastructure project.

About the Project

The purpose of the millage is to fund improvements to the City’s water system. Specifically, it would replace all lead service lines, replace nearly all of the existing water mains in the City, and fund the construction of two new water mains to improve overall water system pressure and reliability.

The state of Michigan has required all local water systems in the state to replace all lead service lines at public expense. Based on our records, about 60% of houses in the City have a lead service line. While we are doing that work we will also replace the water mains. Our water mains are approaching 100 years old, at the end of their useful life, are undersized by today’s standards, and being cast iron are also corroded which reduces their effective diameter further reducing flow rates and reliability.

The water infrastructure project must be completed. It is not a question of whether we do this project, but rather how the residents prefer to pay for it. If the water infrastructure millage does not pass the project will be paid for by increased water rates – about a 35% rate increase.

Increased water rates will have a disparate impact on residents, with some residents paying much more than others based on whether you are a high or low water user. Higher water rates are also an incentive for residents to reduce water usage, leading to unpredictable revenues to fund the infrastructure project and the possibility of the City having to implement future rate increases to cover any shortfalls.

The property tax millage would have a more equal impact, with all residents seeing about a 6%  annual increase over what they currently pay to the City for property taxes and water.

Original source can be found here.