Requiring a municipality to meter water and sewer

[Erich Rasch]

Hi BP,

I have a 16 unit apartment building in a small town in Michigan with municipal water and sewer. The town charges a flat rate for water and sewer and does not offer the option to have them metered. The flat rate for an apartment is the same as any single family home. Given I have properties in other towns close by that are metered and have a lot of units rented by one person, I know I'm paying roughly double for water and sewer at this property compared to if it was metered.

I have gone to multiple City Council meetings over the past year and they keep on slow-walking me on this issue. Does anyone know of any State of Michigan or Federal court cases that require a municipality to offer water or sewer metering upon request? Are there any other avenues I can take to get this municipality to let me meter my water instead of paying the exorbitant flat rate?

Thanks!