Clarkston council authorizes recouping $194,024.54 sewer repair cost through sewer billing

Mayor Sue Wylie and the City of the Village of Clarkston City Council voted Jan. 13 to authorize the City Treasurer to recoup $194,024.54 in costs for the West Alley sanitary sewer repair through the city’s sewer billing system.

The council first voted on a motion to table the matter, moved by Mayor Sue Wylie and supported by Councilmember Erica Jones; that motion failed 3-4, with Jones, Rodgers and Wylie voting in favor and Councilmembers Ted Quisenberry, Amanda Forte, Gary Casey and Al Avery opposing. After the tabling motion failed, Councilmember Al Avery moved and Councilmember Gary Casey supported a resolution to authorize recoupment via the sewer billing system. The resolution directs recoupment based on eight (8) quarterly payments of $44.00 per quarter per Residential Equivalent Unit (REU), beginning with the February 2025 billing cycle. The council approved that resolution 6-1; Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rodgers was the lone dissenting vote.

The resolution does not change the repair amount of $194,024.54 or the number of REUs; it specifies the city’s billing mechanism and repayment schedule. The transcript records the motions, the roll-call votes, and the repayment structure, but does not include detail on alternatives considered or whether property owners were individually notified prior to the vote.

Next steps: the resolution instructs the City Treasurer to implement the billing change beginning with the Feb. 2025 cycle. No appeals or follow-up directives were recorded in the meeting minutes.