(L/R) County Exec Tom Hickner and Drain Commissioner Joseph Rivet are on soapbox over high Bay City Water Bills.

---

Bay County Drain Chief Says His Sewer Bill Went Up 500 Percent in Bay City

County Executive Agrees to Install Separate Meter for Pool to Lower Bills

February 2, 2011
By: Dave Rogers

Two Bay County officials now are on the soapbox about high city sewer bills.

These comments come even as discussions continue over potential city-county cooperation on a wastewater treatment plant.

Joseph Rivet, the Bay County Drain Commissioner, told a Bay City Town Hall Meeting Monday night he is not happy with city sewer bills.

Mr. Rivet, a former state representative, criticized city leadership over the past 20 years for failing to see residents as partners.

He joined County Executive Thomas L. Hickner as a critic of the city sewer system. Hickner recently voiced objections to the cost of treatment of water from the Community Center swimming pool.

Mr. Hickner complained that the city is charging the county as if all of the pool water has been going through the sewer for treatment, when in actuality the pool is drained directly to the river.

He said sewer bills in the summer when the pool is open range from $3,000 to $6,000, he said, dropping to about $1,000 in winter.

Mr. Hickner reported that City Manager Robert Belleman agreed to stop charging additional sewer costs if the county installs a separate water meter for the pool.

Mr. Hickner, 57, hold a masters degree in business from Western Michigan University. He served 10 years as a state legislator from Bay County and worked nearly four years as a fiscal analyst for the Senate Fiscal Agency of the Michigan Legislature.

He is in his sixth four year term as county executive and is a member of the Michigan Wind Council and the Michigan Council for Labor and Economic Growth.

Speaking as a private citizen and city resident, Mr. Rivet said since moving to Bay City 18 months ago from Bangor Township his his sewer rate has increased about 500 percent from township sewer cost levels.

"The City Commission does not see its neighbors as partners in moving forward in this community," Rivet said. "This attitude over 20 years has put us in this situation." Mr. Rivet urged residents and officials to realize that the city now is a minority partner in a water/sewer system serving all of Bay County."

Rivet, 45, besides serving a term as state representative, served as Bangor Township supervisor 1994-1998 and was elected drain commissioner in 2005 and re-elected last year. He holds a master's degree in business from Michigan State University. He is an adjunct professor of Political Science at Saginaw Valley State University.

A 15-member citizens advisory committee has been studying the cost of sewer bills for the past couple of months and plans several more meetings.

Tom Paige, director of the West Bay County Wastewater Treatment Plant, told the committee several weeks ago that the county plant does not have the capacity to handle the city's seven million gallons a day sewage flow.

It is not known if the city and county officials will get together to discuss issues raised by Mr. Rivet and Mr. Hickner and/or the proposed city-county cooperation on waste water treatment.###