We’re almost through another work week, we all could use a little boost to get us to the weekend, so welcome to takes, where we offer … Let’s call it constructive criticism. Or big ideas we’d like to see in Flint. Or maybe just a rant about something. If you have an idea and would like to write one, pitch it to [email protected].
Leading up to and during a public hearing by the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) on February 25, we saw something that is a rarity in Flint politics: absolute unity in a message to the GLWA Board of Directors that a water rate increase for municipal customers of their water system is absolutely unjustifiable right now.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley released a statement before the meeting, encouraging residents to make public comments in opposition to the increase. Four current City Council members all spoke on behalf of residents, as did several current candidates for council seats in the upcoming election. Dozens of community activists and residents from Flint and other municipalities in the Wayne and Macomb County areas shared a mix of data and personal testimonies about the potential harm increasing water rates would have on families already struggling with affordability of everything from rent to utilities to food and groceries.
As heartbreaking as it is to beg government officials to understand the literal humanitarian crisis that exists for working families living in or near poverty with skyrocketing costs for basic necessities, the solidarity between people who are not always on the same side was at least gratifying to see. Activist Arthur Woodson pointed out that the GLWA board includes no representation from Flint. Several residents pointed out that Flint residents already have some of the highest water bills in the country, even with many people still unable to trust the safety of their tap water. There were even non-Flint residents from the Detroit area who spoke up on behalf of Flint and understood that, even in an environment where people are struggling statewide, Flint’s plight with water quality, systems, and rates is uniquely tragic.
The impassioned pleas didn’t do much, unfortunately. The GLWA board still unanimously voted to approve rate increases, although they did reduce the proposed increase some. They initially proposed a 6.83 percent increase for water and 5.98 percent increase for sewer, but settled on 5.8 percent for water and 4.26 percent for sewer. Last year, when the GLWA also raised rates, the city of Flint moved American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish a water fund that helped avoid passing on those increases directly to customers. In January, according to reporting by Ron Fonger at MLive, the city announced that it doesn’t currently plan to pass on this year’s now-approved increases on to customers, and my hope is the mayor and council work together to stick to that.
“We worked to balance affordability concerns with system needs to replace pipes over 100 years old,” GLWA board member Brian Baker told The Detroit News. “Including today’s charges, the average 10-year GLWA charge increase for water is 3% and less than 1.9% for sewer.”
“Budget and charge increases are never implemented lightly,” GLWA CEO Suzanne R. Coffey told CBS News. “However, our regional system is at an inflection point. Aging infrastructure is deteriorating faster than it can be replaced under the current funding model, while climate impacts and operational demands continue to rise. Our responsibility is striking the right balance; protecting affordability for the communities we serve while making the investments necessary to ensure long-term reliability, public health and system resilience.”
I don’t think anyone, especially in Flint, is naive to the dangers of aging water infrastructure. Michigan cities in particular but really legacy cities all over the country are plagued with old infrastructure that can – and has – caused catastrophic issues with water systems. And repairs are expensive, so regularly asking for increases also makes sense. But there are some key questions that are reasonable for GLWA to answer: What are the exact repairs that are needed and in what regions? Are these repairs long-term fixes, or short-term bandaids? Will they help bring down costs over time? And if so, how? It’s one thing to pay a rate increase that will result in a more efficient, healthier system overall that will be stable for years But the pattern seems to be a piecemeal approach, with rate increases every year to address “aging infrastructure,” which seems like a cycle that could go on endlessly.
What the hearing really unveiled is the need for even deeper collective action. Flint is unfortunately locked into a long-term agreement with the GLWA that would likely be difficult – and expensive – to get out of. But the meeting also showed there are unified residents across multiple municipalities in Michigan. What if the local governments in those municipalities truly represented their residents by working together and exerting combined, maximum pressure on the GLWA? What if they all threatened to leave? What if the residents in every community serviced by the GLWA just simply stopped paying their water bills until the organization operated with more transparency and equity around costs?
This isn’t a foreign concept in a place like Flint. The city is the blueprint for solidarity. There’s a reason, in the few months since Flint. Daily. launched, that activism is a recurring piece of our coverage. What we need, and have the ability to form right here in this city, is the modern version of the magic the Sitdown Strikers and other labor leaders throughout our history discovered. There is power in community and solidarity.
I recently talked with organizers of a new Flint Housing Union. One of the founders of the group, Keishaun Wade, discussed the need to represent all categories of people within the housing realm – homeowners, renters, and unhoused people. I was encouraged to hear that vision, and I hope that the many activist groups forming within the city begin to see the many commonalities between their organizations and find creative ways to work together.
There is currently a group of approximately 700 nurses from Henry Ford Genesys in our community who have been on strike since Labor Day of 2025. The Mott Community College faculty union currently has an unresolved grievance against the college because the Board of Trustees did not follow a contractually agreed upon hiring process when selecting its new president. UAW Local 598 had planned, and then canceled, a protest at its headquarters today against federal immigration policies.
These are just a few examples, and none of the groups organizing those efforts should be doing so in silos. There are multiple other unions in this county who could be throwing their support and resources behind striking nurses or faculty who are fighting for their contract to be followed. There are several other groups who have organized protests and provide information to help support immigrants in our community who could reach out to Local 598 to help plan an even bigger attention-getting protest. Pressure on powerful organizations and government works, but a critical mass of people is needed for it to be effective.
My hope is simple: we all recognize that our struggles are different, but related. That collectively, we have much more power when we advocate for and lift each other and our community. It is gratifying to see so many community-focused groups, especially several that are led by young people, growing in the city alongside existing unions and other resident-focused organizations that have been doing the work for decades. The next step, one that I hope is in the works, is that they all start communicating more, understand how their work and goals all overlap, and that actual political power doesn’t change or budge until residents across interests, across communities, across struggles realize and advocate for what they have in common.
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