Bryce Covert has the story:
A report released by Food & Water Watch on Tuesday confirmed what many residents had long suspected: that their water bills, averaging $140 a month, were the highest in the country. The group found that a Flint resident paid $864.32 a year for water in January 2015, about $500 more than what the typical family in the rest of the country paid for water from other public utilities and more than twice the rate paid in the state generally.
A memo commissioned by the city itself in April 2015 found that the high costs, in a city where 41.5 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, are widely unaffordable, or consumes more than 2 percent of most households’ incomes.
Under the circumstances, many Flint, Michigan, residents who could have paid a portion of their water bill chose to spend it on other necessities because they knew that just paying a part of it would mean they would eventually have their water shut off either way. This reduced revenue forced the city to spend more on collections efforts, and also meant that infrastructure upgrades were financially hamstrung.
Residents are fighting back with a number of lawsuits, and petitioning for reimbursements dating back to 2014 when the switch to the contaminated water was made.
Under pressure from the scandal, Gov. Rick Snyder proposed $195 million in his new budget for lead-related expenditures in Flint. Of that total, $30 million is earmarked for reimbursing residents for their water bills. Activists say, however, that the overall spending is not enough and should include, among other things, replacement of all lead-contaminated pipes.