A confidential plan is being pushed to break the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department free from the City of Detroit and create a regional authority, which could pump as much as $50 million a year back into the cash-strapped city's budget, the Free Press has learned.
John Wisley and Matt Helms report a 15-page summary of the plan, titled "Proposal to Control Our Own Destiny," calls for the city to own the system but for an authority to operate it independently of city bureaucracy.
Critics say that bureaucracy has hamstrung the system -- which serves more than 4 million Michigan residents -- for years. They say immediate action is needed because vendors and bond-rating agencies are suspicious of the impact an emergency financial manager or municipal bankruptcy could have.
One of the principles laid out in the plan, which is being proposed by a court-appointed review committee that includes city and water department officials, is to: "Insulate DWSD and customers from the risks of Detroit's financial situation."
