The Genesee County Board of Commissioners is sending a letter to Governor Rick Snyder demanding that the State of Michigan reimburse the county more than $1 million that the county has said it was forced to spend in response to the problems with the water in Flint. The county’s position is that the problems with the water and the costs associated with it are the direct result of state government actions and failures.
“We are calling upon Governor Snyder to do what is right by ensuring that Genesee County taxpayers are not saddled with a substantial bill for the county’s emergency response to the state-caused crisis,” said Commissioner Jamie Curtis, Chair of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners.
The letter explains that Genesee County has expended more than $1 million dollars to alleviate the effects of the city’s problems with the water in an effort to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents, workers, and others in the City of Flint. In the letter, the Board claims that the problem with the water in Flint was directly caused by failures at the state government level. The Board mentions the cost-cutting actions of the state-appointed emergency managers to a mishandling of the situation at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to a inattentive response from the Governor’s office.
The Board feels that that it is vital that Genesee County retains its fund balance. Some examples of funds Genesee County Building and Grounds has been forced to spend is associated with picking up and delivering water filters and water to Flint fire stations, assisting the Sheriff’s Office with an emergency action plan, and clearing snow at a warehouse so semi-trucks were able to deliver water, among many other expenses.
The Board’s letter to the Governor concludes with: “Genesee County did and is doing all that it can to protect the public. Therefore, Genesee County demands to be reimbursed for its costs because those costs were directly caused by the State of Michigan’s decisions.”
