The restructuring comes as the department is at the center of negotiations between the City of Detroit, which owns the system, and the suburbs, where 75% of its customers now live. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr wants to create a regional authority that would manage the department and lease the assets
from the city.
The amount of those lease payments has been a sticking point in the negotiations. Orr’s opening offer amounted to more than $200 million annually, which suburban leaders immediately rejected.
The two sides have been negotiating since. Oakland and Macomb county officials have been clamoring for financial details and other reports on the operations of the department for months, saying they can’t agree to a deal until they have a full picture of the department’s finances.
The Free Press reported last week that Orr was considering moving ahead with an authority that didn’t include Oakland and Macomb counties if the negotiations stall.
McCormick told suburban leaders last week that Detroit’s bankruptcy adds increased urgency to the reorganization plans.
“If we are to have any type of change to the governance or structure, the more that we have completed, the less that we will have as an organization,” McCormick said. “We certainly want our labor issues resolved and the organization substantially in place.”
Article Appeared @http://www.freep.com/article/20140129/NEWS01/301290102/600-jobs-eliminated-detroit-water-and-sewerage-department-reorgnization-layoffs