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Inkster officials: state requires lead‑line notifications; city working to fix billing errors from migration and finish meter rollout
Summary
Officials told the Jan. 5 council meeting that state rules require lead‑line notification letters and that the city is replacing lead service lines. Separately, a billing system migration produced erroneous water bills for some residents; staff said they have corrected many accounts and the new meters are about 81% installed with a goal of full completion by April.
Unidentified council leadership and staff addressed resident questions about lead notifications and recent water‑billing problems during the Jan. 5 meeting.
On lead notifications: A resident asked whether the city offers remediation following a state‑issued lead notification. The presiding officer said the notification letters are required by the state and the city cannot change their content. City staff said the municipality is required to replace lead service lines and offered to send staff to homes to test water for residents who are uncertain whether they have lead pipes. The city reported roughly 9,000 housing units and estimated "about 10%" may still have lead service lines; officials said only a small number of tests completed to date returned positive results but that the letters cannot be altered by the city.
On billing errors and meters: Council and residents described cases of inflated or unexpected bills tied to a migration from an old billing system to a new platform and installation of new meters. The mayor explained that a migration problem and a decimal calculation error produced some erroneous invoices; staff corrected accounts individually and issued a two‑month bill (covering October–November) while corrections were underway. The mayor said the new meters also enable leak detection and continuous‑use alerts and that staff will hand‑deliver notices to households with suspected leaks.
The treasurer (identified at the meeting) told council the recent bills residents received cover two months (October and November) and reiterated the city is still combining data from old and new meters. The treasurer said the city is approximately 81% complete on new meter installations and aims to finish installations by April; staff noted the city ordinance requires new meters and that replacement work began in 2020–2021.
What residents were told to do: Officials urged residents with concerns to contact city staff for on‑site testing or bill review. The city said it will continue to send corrected statements and to provide account information at City Hall.
