LANSING, Mich.—Legislative leaders said Wednesday they are open to spending $30 million to help pay the water bills of Flint residents facing an emergency over a lead-contaminated water supply, though a top Democrat said the proposed state funding should be doubled.
Gov. Rick Snyder briefed city officials and pastors in Flint earlier in the day about his plan, which he will formally outline to the Republican-controlled Legislature next week in conjunction with his annual budget proposal. Details of the plan were first obtained by The Associated Press late Tuesday.
The aid would cover the estimated portion of residential customers’ utility bills for water that has been or will be used for drinking, cooking or bathing between April 2014—when the city’s water source was switched—and this spring. Customers would still be responsible for paying for water used for other purposes, such as to flush toilets or wash clothes.
Snyder has apologized for regulatory mistakes that caused Flint’s water to become tainted with lead from old pipes after the city started tapping the Flint River instead of Detroit’s water system in 2014. The switch was made in an effort to save money while the cash-strapped city was under state financial management.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat from Flint, said Snyder’s proposal was a step in the right direction. But he said the state should fully cover the water portion of customers’ water/sewer bills and double the amount to cover the costs to $60 million, because the state was “almost wholly culpable for this problem.”
