Heise Opposes Wayne County Sewer 'Buyback' Plan

Rep. Kurt Heiese (R-Plymouth Township), shown here in an earlier legislative proceeding, opposes the Wayne County sewer “buyback” program. (Photo via gophouse.org)

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Legislation introduced by state Rep. Kurt Heise (R- Plymouth Township) is aimed at stopping Wayne County from selling or transferring ownership of regional sewer systems already paid for by communities.

House Bills 4033 and 4082 are in response to a 2014 plan by former Wayne County CEO Robert Ficano and the County Commission to force more than 30 Wayne County communities to ‘buy back’ sewer systems that the communities had already paid through their water and sewer bills, effectively helping to bailout Wayne County.

The so-called ”buyback” plan was the centerpiece of Ficano’s failed 2014 Deficit Elimination Plan, submitted to the State of Michigan and obtained by Rep. Heise. Thebuyback plan would have generated $121 million, helping bail the county out of a deficitsituation.

None of the communities impacted by the plan, including Heise’s communities ofPlymouth, Northville, and Canton, supported the buyback move.

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“The scheme, orchestrated by Bob Ficano and approved by the County Commission, would have cost our residents and businesses millions of dollars, and cheated us out of decades of investment,” Heise said. “My bill protects our hardworking taxpayers and makes sure wedon’t get blindsided again by the county or anyone else.”

Attorneys representing the impacted Wayne County communities were alerted tothe plan through filings submitted with the state. They then wrote to the MichiganDepartment of Treasury stating that the communities never consented to the plan. Thecommunities also outlined multiple legal, policy and contractual objections to the state,including whether Wayne County could claim ownership of the sewer systems in the first place.

“As a result of the municipal attorneys’ complaints to the Michigan Department ofTreasury, Bob Ficano was informed by the State Treasurer in April 2014 that the buybackscheme was a non-starter, primarily because the communities never consented to it,” said Heise.

Heise’s bills would require that any buyback, leaseback or asset transfer of a sewersystem by a county, city, drainage district or authority be approved by a simple majority ofthe communities served by that system, following notice and an opportunity to negotiate theterms and conditions of that sale or transfer.

“My bills simply require that Wayne County - or any other governmental sewage provider in Michigan - negotiate in good faith with the customer communities who arepaying the bills, and not try to pull one over on us,” Heise added.

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