FLINT -- The City of Flint will be raising the deposit amount of water accounts to rental properties to $350, up from $100.
The new rate takes effect March 1 of this year.
"When residents don't pay their water bill for months at a time, that cost is passed on to those residents who do pay, and that's just not fair," explained Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz. "Our goal by raising the deposit amount to $350 is to recover more of the costs associated with non-payments, shutoffs, and those who vacate their rental properties without paying."
The problem for Flint has to do with the nature of rental properties versus those of a property owner.
When a property own doesn't pay their water bill, the unpaid amount is added to the property tax.
There is no similar mechanism for rental properties, however.
The City of Flint tells us that there are currently 5,000 water affidavits for rental properties in Flint with $2.8 million owed from just those affidavits.
