Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Announcement

Matthew Worley

Our own Jim Fausone, Chair of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s Board of Water Commissioners, took part in an important announcement yesterday.  The Department is making some bold changes – changes that are expected to result in annual savings of $149 million.

Mayor Dave Bing, Director Sue McCormick, and the Board proposed a broad restructuring of the department.  This includes the elimination of about 1,600 of its 1,978 jobs over the next five years.  The plan also provides for job redesign, outsourcing, technology improvements, and new training.

Part of the inefficiency now is that department employees have inflexible and narrow job descriptions.  The new plan increases efficiency by cross-training employees to perform multiple functions. 

Presently, the department anticipates annual rate increases for its customers to be around 8%.  After putting this plan in to place, that number is expected to decrease substantially.  In other words, these measures will limit the annual increases in water rates for everyone.

As expected, there is some resistance from the local 207 union of State, County, and Municipal Employees who oppose the plan because of the jobs that will be eliminated.

To learn more or see the original article, please visit:

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/detroit-mayor-looks-to-save-149-million-annually-with-job-cuts-and-restructuring-water-dept