News File Photo Alpena’s water tower is seen in this August photo. The city of Alpena and Alpena have been at loggerheads over water and sewer rates, and the city hopes to end the decade-old dispute soon.

ALPENA — The City of Alpena agrees with 26th Circuit Court Judge Ed Black’s ruling on proposed water and sewer rates and wants to hold a closed session with the Alpena City Council to try to reach an agreement that could puts an end to the decade-old dispute. .

This was conveyed by the municipality in a press release sent on Monday evening.

The Town of Alpena and Alpena have been in litigation over the water and sewer rates the town charges the community.

In September, the city proposed water rates the community would pay for the years 2014 through 2018, which ranged from $3.80 per 1,000 gallons to $4.10 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer rates would range from $3.60 per 1,000 gallons to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons.

At a hearing last week, Black ruled that the water rates the city proposed to the court were not fair and reasonable and ordered the city to propose even lower rates at a Nov. 22 hearing. It also concluded that the proposed sewer rates are fair, which could close that chapter in the litigation.

Black said rates must be set based on the percentage of the town’s water and sewer system the community uses for service and because the township is a wholesale customer.

Black has no authority to set the rates, only to determine whether they are fair and reasonable to both parties.

“The court stated that the city’s proposed water rate was unreasonable and determined that the city was including too high a number in its rates given the city’s status as a wholesale customer,” the letter said.

The city agreed with Black’s ruling, saying the most recent sewer rate properly charged the township for the percentage of the city’s system that is being used and that the rates were fair.

Still, the municipality says, there is work to be done and hopes to begin discussions with the Alpena City Council to help end the litigation before the next court appearance.

“While the Township is satisfied with the rulings made by the court, it continues to seek a reasonable resolution with the Township; one that will end this litigation and avoid future unnecessary litigation,” the press release said. “In fact, the Township’s preference is to meet in closed joint session with the Township prior to the Nov. 22 trial to discuss an agreement that the Township previously sent to the Township. The municipality’s proposal would end this litigation and bring needed closure. The Township hopes the Township will accept its offer to meet and discuss how the parties can move past this litigation.”

The township has not said what it is looking for in terms of a settlement.

The board has yet to discuss Black’s decision, but is expected to do so during a closed session at its next meeting on Nov. 4. More information should be available afterwards as to where the city is located.

The city and town also reserve the right to appeal Black’s decision.

The city buys water from Alpena, and for years the city used a formula in a 1977 contract to set rates. As of 2013, the city chose not to use the wording that said the agreement had expired, which was the start of more than a decade of disagreement over water rates. The city claims the rates are too high because it doesn’t use the entire city-owned water and sewer system and was a wholesale customer.

At the end of the trial earlier this year, Black ruled that the township was indeed a wholesaler and any rate imposed on it should be based not only on the amount of water it purchases, but also on the percentage of the water systems city ​​water and sewer. the township uses uses to receive services from Alpena.

The litigation began in 2014, and as the dispute progressed, the two sides continued to negotiate, but made little or no progress over the years.

In 2017, the circuit court ordered the two parties to mediate. That only lasted a day, though, as city officials didn’t see enough progress to continue.

A deal appeared likely in early 2018, when both boards voted to approve “terms in principle” for a deal.

That vote was not for an agreement on rates, but to seek a rate-setting process that could end the dispute.

After continued negotiations failed to reach an agreement, the local court essentially ordered the two sides to stick to the terms they reached earlier in the year.

Shortly thereafter, the township appealed part of that ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the township filed a cross-appeal. The appellate court also ordered mediation, which again yielded no agreement.

The appeals court then ruled that the proposed agreement was not binding, which the town appealed to the state Supreme Court. The state’s highest court declined to hear the case and sent it back to the circuit court in Alpena.

During the original hearing in circuit court, then-Judge Michael Mack ordered the opening of an escrow account on behalf of both governments. Mack asked the township to deposit into that account the difference between the old rates the township was paying and the higher rates the township set for all of its customers.

Over the past several years, the two municipalities have worked together to establish a new authority to oversee water and sewer operations for both governments.

The two sides reached a draft agreement on a water and sewage authority in early 2022.

However, that plan collapsed, leaving the fate of the matter in the hands of the court.

The two sides have spent millions of dollars on attorneys’ and consultants’ fees since the litigation began.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or [email protected]. Follow X @ss_alpenanews.com.