What's next for Highland Park after the city's ordered to pay multi-million dollar water bill debt
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last week that the City of Highland Park must pay $19 million for unpaid water bills.
The ruling now has the city on the clock to pay it's mounting debt, but city officials say they don't have the money to pay.
Some area officials, including city council, believe the state needs to step in and help.
"Some people are saying just shut their water off if they won't pay their water and sewer bills just shut off their services," said Candice Miller from Macomb County Public Works. "Well look there are children and babies that live there, so you can't do that, but everybody else don't want to pay for them forever."
During Monday's city council meeting, council members approved a request asking the governor to look into whether a financial emergency exists due to their increasing debt.
Macomb County officials also believe the state needs to get involved.
"Something has to happen with Highland Park," Miller said. "They clearly don't have the ability with their declining population, declining property values to do a lot of the kind of services that people would expect in a city - police, fire… water and sewer bills."
Council members are using what's called Public Act 436, which would allow among many things for the governor to appoint an emergency manager or it could be decided that the city should declare bankruptcy.
The council is hoping to avoid raising rates for residents.
"We are still willing to work them and the state, but they go to be willing to step up, the leadership in Highland Park have these honest conversations with the state of Michigan, GWLA, as well as the residents to let them know the real issue that's on going," said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
CBS News Detroit asked Governor Gretchen Whitmer about city's council request. She said "it's too early" to tell what such a request could look like.
"I think there's still a lot that is unknown at this time. We are working with the state treasurer to understand what the potential paths could be. We are taking a hard look at it," she said.
Hackel didn't go as far to say the state needs to get involved, but he says something clearly needs to be done.
"Whether its bankruptcy, or some kind of receivership or somebody overseeing the city, I don't know. Far be it for me to tell them what to do, but they need to come to the state and they need to come forward and say listen I know we have issues and we don't want our residents affected by this or our businesses, what can we do and how do we solve this problem. I think everyone is waiting for them to do that so we can have an honest conversation," he said.
The state did appoint an emergency manager in 2001 to oversee Highland Park. It ended in 2009.
