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| Photo by Paweł. |
Detroit can continue to shut off water service to customers who don’t pay their bills, a judge ruled, rejecting a request from advocates for low-income residents and removing another hurdle from the city’s path through bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said he didn’t have the authority under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to force the city to stop shutting off water service.
“The law allows the city to terminate service for lack of payment,” Rhodes said today before resuming a trial on Detroit’s debt-cutting plan. “The bankruptcy code has nothing to say on the matter.”
The city argued that Rhodes didn’t have the power to halt its shutoff program. Under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, judges have less power over a bankrupt municipality than they have over companies under Chapter 11.
He also said that even if he did have the power, he would have sided with the city, which argued that a temporary halt to the shutoffs was unnecessary, in part because of a plan to help customers with payment plans or subsidies. The city also disputed claims that the policy created a health threat.
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