By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

CLARKSTON — City of the Village of Clarkston residents will soon be paying more for their sewer bills.
At the Jan. 8 Clarkston City Council meeting, council unanimously approved a resolution to increase the quarterly sewer billing rate from $117.42 to $128, a 9% increase, per residential equivalent unit (REU) starting Feb. 1 to cover recently implemented increases from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).
This is the city’s first rate increase in over seven years, as the rate became the $117.42 amount back on July 28, 2016, a 3% increase from $114 on Nov. 2, 2015.
“Right now, we’re losing money every quarterly bill,” said Clarkston City Manager Jonathan Smith. “We’re paying the township more than we’re receiving in. We’re actually in a bad situation right now. We wanted to watch the last quarterly billing just to confirm all the numbers and (City Treasurer) Greg Cote’ and I did that and we are confident this increase will help the numbers. We really don’t have any choice in the matter. We don’t have another supplier we can go to. This is it. For sewage disposal, they are the only game in town.”
Back at the Aug. 28, 2023 council meeting, Independence Township DPW Director David McKee reported that the GLWA and Oakland County Water Resource Commissioners Office (WRC) had announced an increase of 7.5% for sewage disposal rates for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The $117.42 rate had remain unchanged since the 2016 date despite small increases charged to the city over the last two years.
In addition, to accommodate the increase, as well as small previous increases (from Independence Township, which gets billed by GLWA) that were not passed along to city residents, the $10.58 increase was recommended. It was also noted that inflation alone during the last seven years had increased 20% and additional sewage disposal rate increases from GLWA and WRC are anticipated for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Discussion at the Aug. 28 meeting was also had regarding the township taking over the sewer billing and that is ongoing, according to Smith.

PHOTO: City Hall. File photo: Matt Mackinder