Phone lines are ringing off the hook at DWSD; Lifeline Plan and Basement Backup Protection programs the cause.
Hey Detroit! At 1 p.m., I’ll live-tweet the @DetroitWaterDep Board of Water Commissioners Committee Meetings for #DETdocumenters. 🧵
Our partners: @DetDocumenters, @media_outlier, @BridgeDet313, @chalkbeatDET, @Detour_Detroit, @freep, @metrotimes, @PlanetDetroit and @wdet.
11:06 AM Aug 3, 2022 CDT
Join this meeting online, by phone or in person: https://detroitmi.gov/events/board-water-commissioners-august-2022-committee-meetings
More of our notes, recordings and archived materials: https://detroit.documenters.org/assignments/all-committees-4249/
📎 This will be a series of four quick back-to-back meetings. Here are the agendas and attachments.
Special Meeting: The board will have a closed session meeting with their general counsel to discuss an ongoing legal case: https://dwsd.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=990662&GUID=D848B2FB-90CC-48C4-88F8-7603E921299C&Options=info|&Search= … https://t.co/Kwnls9Qpwc
Finance Committee: The board will see a financial review presentation and decide upon five contracts for maintenance, metering, printing and vehicle repair. https://dwsd.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=988473&GUID=96906759-FCCE-4EDA-9D25-305E33382B75&Options=info|&Search= … https://t.co/ZApEXBkttS
Human Resources and Organizational Development Committee: They’ll get a presentation on DWSD staffing levels, certification training and ongoing union contract negotiations. https://dwsd.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=988476&GUID=7F89301C-7473-4423-95C9-59A7BAF950BE&Options=info|&Search= … https://t.co/Yhb4ByCJRR
Customer Service Committee: The board will receive @Water4Detroit’s letter, which proposes a water affordability summit between DWSD, advocates and city officials. The board will also see a presentation on customer support performance. https://dwsd.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=988475&GUID=8E9E90F3-1330-49FA-BF3D-2FA9F8F43AFD&Options=info|&Search= https://t.co/qk9xL1R9xU
🏃 Need to catch up on the DWSD? See our past reporting: https://detroit.documenters.org/reporting/?search=detroit+water+and+sewerage+department
See Byron’s tweets from the last meeting we covered: https://twitter.com/Wilkes36/status/1552048451248062471
🗞 Detroit’s water department now has a water affordability plan for low-income residents, but advocates say it launched without public engagement or transparency. For more, @rasha_almulaiki spoke with @WeThePeopleDet: https://michiganchronicle.com/2022/07/18/detroit-launches-lifeline-water-affordability-plan-water-justice-advocates-want-transparency/
Last summer’s floods quickly overwhelmed metro Detroit’s stormwater infrastructure. @JGallagher_Det looks into the long list of challenges in building a more resilient water system: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-forum-flooding/why-metro-detroit-flooding-more-often-during-rainstorms
❓ The Board of Water Commissioners decides what @DetroitWaterDep (DWSD) customers pay for water, drainage, and sewage. The mayor (@MayorMikeDuggan) appoints the commissioners, who meet monthly. https://detroitmi.gov/government/boards/board-water-commissioners
Your appointed Board of Water Commissioners:
• @einheuser, chair
• Mary Blackmon, vice chair
• Jane Garcia
• John Henry Davis
• @jkin5022
• Lane Coleman
• Linda Forte
🚩 Need image descriptions? Reply and I’ll describe images for you.
Found something inaccurate? Email documenters@outliermedia.org with the subject “Correction Request”. I’ll add corrections at the end.
See you at 1 p.m.!
⌚️ At 1:02 p.m., the Special Meeting starts!
👤 Roll call: Davis, Coleman, Kinloch are absent but the secretary says “they plan to join us”.
The board approves the agenda, as well as the minutes from a previous Special Meeting No. 19. https://t.co/Trqifc2RQB
📣 At 1:03 p.m., the board proceeds to hear public comments.
Latrina asks why residents need to fill a form to request lead piping removal when DWSD construction is nearby. They also ask why this form is difficult to find and if the form can be more easy to find.
Board member Kinloch has joined the meeting.
Belulah, representing Hydrate Detroit, says their clients have had better response times from Wayne Metro.
💼 At 1:10 p.m., the board proceeds to new business. There are no other items except for the closed session, which they vote on. They all approve. Someone says commissioner Davis has joined the meeting.
🔒 At 1:13 p.m., the board goes into closed session. It’s taking a bit for them to transition the meeting.
They kick everyone off the online meeting, myself included, and I’m unable to re-join… I wonder how I’ll be able to tell when they’re finished. https://t.co/bKw5CMWNcT
Usually meeting bodies let everyone stay in the online meeting and just remove the audio and video feeds for closed sessions.
I guess I’ll try to re-join every 30 seconds. The board is behind schedule since the Finance Committee meeting is supposed to happen now.
I’m now getting a different message saying I simply can’t re-join the meeting at all. Hope I wasn’t banned… https://t.co/24XIhjm3V3
CORRECTION: Latrina asked why residents need a form to request lead pipe removal, as part of a program that can remove such pipes while DWSD construction is in the area.
https://twitter.com/civicDetroitDan/status/1554877606134251520
Still locked out of the meeting.
In case anyone is wondering, these four meetings will all use the same meeting ID. It should be a seamless transition between each meeting, no need to leave and come back. (Except for this closed session.)
I think they’re still in the Special Meeting?
Board member Blackmon says 120 Wayne Metro staff have answered 5,000 calls (on flood damage claims?).
Also, 12,000 letters were sent to “100 percent” of (GLWA?) customers regarding GLWA’s denied flood damage claims from 2021. …
Blackmon also says they’ll send follow-up letters within the next few weeks, and that DWSD will settle some of their flooding lawsuits, including ones related to sewer collapse incidents. …
Pospiech clarifies these are class action lawsuits where payout recipients are decided “down the road”. She says, “It’s going to be very complicated litigation that will go on for quite some time.” Pospiech says there’ll be a “slim to none” chance the lawsuits would be dismissed.
Other board members point out that government immunity may excuse GLWA and DWSD from responsibility. A board member pushes back on this, pleading for relief to flood victims, and says that mass denials exacerbates the damage.
In response, chair Einheuser says FEMA has already paid for some damage claims. He says he’s visited flood-damaged homes and that the situation is “tragic”. However, he says if DWSD were to pay, it would cause rate hikes.
Einheuser says 51 percent of 2021 flood damages cannot be attributed to DWSD. A board member asks if DWSD can use any amount of money to help flood victims…
and Einheuser says they’re working with the EPA to repair lateral sewer lines that are “falling off”. He says these repairs would help prevent further flooding.
Chair Einheuser says he and the Army Corps of Engineers will visit a flood prevention project in Illinois to find solutions. He goes on to say he was “disappointed in the Biden bill” that failed to fund one of DWSD’s programs.
Einheuser says they have “tons of lobbyists” in Washington D.C. working to secure permanent funding. He also says they’re working with trade organizations toward the same kind of funding.
⏱ At 1:54 p.m., this meeting adjourns, but stay tuned for three more meetings. Pospiech says she mistakenly budgeted not enough time for the Special Meeting. …
Now the board is considering calling and adjourning the next few meetings quickly to get back to schedule.
A board member says they don’t want to limit public comment.
⌚️ At 1:57 p.m., the board calls to order the Finance Committee meeting. Everyone from the start of the meeting is still here. Then they quickly adjourn the meeting to get back to schedule.
⌚️ At 1:58 p.m., they call to order the Human Resources and Organizational Development Committee meeting then quickly adjourn that meeting too.
The board waits for 2 p.m. exactly to call the next meeting.
A board member asks if “we were doing it wrong” when dealing with this kind of scheduling conflict. Pospiech nods.
⌚️ At 2 p.m., the Customer Service Committee meeting starts! Everyone is still here. They recess this meeting to go back to the Finance Committee meeting. Yes, I know this is confusing.
The board approves the agenda, as well as the minutes from this committee’s meeting in July.
📣 At 2:01 p.m., the board proceeds to hear public comments. No-one requests to speak after a brief pause, but Tiffany recites the instructions on how to make comment. That’s nice.
✉️ At 2:03 p.m., the board proceeds to communications. The board approves Agenda Item 22-0888, receiving a memo.
🧳 At 2:04 p.m., the board proceeds to unfinished business. The board now considers Item 22-0851, a $254,000 contract with Process Controls & Instrumentation LLC. Michelle McKenzie, DWSD procurement advisor, joins. https://t.co/xyBuyg4PJO
McKenzie says this is a two-year contract for data collection on sewerage. They consulted 87 companies, 33 companies reviewed the bid, and only three firms sent bids. The board approves Item 22-0851.
Item 22-0890, a $180,320 contract with Image Printing. McKenzie says they’ll create door hangers, sandwich boards, and other printed materials. DWSD only had one other bid for this contract. The board approves.
Someone asks about water maintenance personnel working on a “box” on Pontchartain Drive. Someone else responds saying it allows them to monitor water supplied to northern customers.
Item 22-0892, a $154,000 contract with Underground Infrastructure Services. McKenzie says this is a new contract. She says the state requires them to submit an inventory of lead service lines.…
McKenzie says this contract is grant-funded. DWSD only had one other bidder for this contract. The board approves it.
Item 22-0893, a $500,000 contract with Tetra Tech of Michigan. McKenzie says this is also a new contract, and it’s to support DWSD’s drainage charge program and to answer customer requests for drainage charge adjustments. …
McKenzie notes Tetra Tech is a Detroit-based company. The board approves this contract.
Item 22-0889, a $460,000 contract with Bob Maxey, Inc. McKenzie says this adds funding for vehicle parts and repair. The board approves this last contract.
📊 At 2:16 p.m., the board proceeds to the Financial Committee Review presentation with Istakur Rahman. He says cash balances are stable and they have over $10 million in their Water and Sewer funds each. DWSD has excess dollars which will be transferred “for debt sevice”. https://t.co/qsDfqtvua2
Rahman says they erroneously didn’t make cash transfers from I&E Cash to Cash @ GLWA for debt service, but they’re correcting this now.
Rahman says capital spending is increasing. May’s capital expenditures has doubled compared to April.
Now to revenue metrics and trends. Rahman says water volumes, water commodity revenues, service charges, sewer volumes, sewer commodity revenues and service charges are trending above budget. … https://t.co/ec53fZ9YfK
Rahman says impervious acreage (e.g. unpaved, unbuilt space) has declined in the part year, according to recent flyover data.
Now to collection and receivables. Rahman says residential water sales account for 45% of DWSD’s sales. He notes that the average age of non-residential sales has improved after a “stepped-up” collection effort. https://t.co/mlxVMKQH4L
That’s it for Rahman’s presentation. Now questions. A board member asks how their new rate structure will impact DWSD’s budget. Rahman says this has been accounted for in their 2023 fiscal year budget. … https://t.co/oSGuKdKzpH
Another board member says they expect the most noticeable change to be a shift in the revenues they receive. They say industrial revenue will make up more of their revenue going forward.
👉 The board proceeds to other matters. There are none.
👉 The next Customer Service Committee meeting will be Sep. 7, 2022.
⏱ At 2:33 p.m., this Finance Committee meeting adjourns.
⌚️ At 2:33 p.m., comes back from recess to proceed with the HR Committee.
The board approves the HR Committee meeting agenda, as well as the minutes from this committee’s meeting in July.
📣 At 2:34 p.m., the board proceeds to hear public comments but no-one requests to speak.
📊 At 2:16 p.m., the board proceeds to the HR Metrics presentation with Patricia Thornhill. She says only one-third of their full-time employees are Detroiters. https://t.co/COgxZUSN63
A board member asks Thornhill to comment on their recent terminations. She says these terminations were due to employees who failed drug tests or violated their probation.
A board member notes that half of DWSD employees did not get merit pay, their incentive to improve attrition rates. Another board member says these numbers are better than what they see in other Detroit organizations.
Thornhill says they’ve reduced the amount of time for employee (COVID?) screenings to one day.
Thornhill talks about open requisitions. She says they’re trying to streamline the timeline for filling open positions. However, she points the labor shortage as a major factor. https://t.co/j0A9bxyGbO
Board member Garcia recalls a hole in their neighborhood and asks whether that would count as “maintenance repair”. Another board member says yes and that they’ll ask her for the location of this hole. Garcia is concerned for the safety of her neighborhood’s children.
Thornhill says tomorrow and the next day, DWSD will host an interview fair where they aim to hire candidates on-site. This is part of their recruitment efforts.
A board member asks where this will take place. Thornhill says it will be at their “CSF facility” on Huber Street. https://t.co/mI1uY1egsd
This board member also remarks that DWSD has a constant need for field service technicians, and asks, “what’s the rub?” …
Thornhill again points to the nationwide labor shortage, as well as their competition with Amazon and Stellantis for hiring technicians. She says “we need to do something about” starting salaries.
Another board member asks why they sent invitations for the interview fair. Thornhill says they only had two weeks to organize and promote this event. She also says they keep requisitions open to have a “fresh” list of applicants.
This same board member asks if they have “we’re hiring!” messages included on DWSD billing statements. Thornhill says they don’t but it’s a great suggestion.
Another board member suggests hiring referral bonuses, for those who get friends to apply for DWSD jobs. Thornhill says they’re considering this.
A board member remarks that Rahman may push back on advertising expenses.
Thornhill now discusses their Drinking Water Operators Certification Program. This program is for the S3- and S4-level licenses. … https://t.co/blXZ5kb7TZ
Thornhill highlights Sam Smalley, the instructor for this eight-week training course.
Sam Smalley joins the meeting. Smalley compares DWSD favorably to hiring competition from Amazon and Stellantis, saying they’re preparing employees for careers through this training. He says they’ve had a “pretty good success rate” with their program. … https://t.co/389H6IFFKH
Thornhill says they’ve had a slight uptick in positive COVID-19 tests among DWSD staff. She says testing for all City of Detroit employees continues at the Northwest Activities Center. … https://t.co/jsj0XCWXu2
Now to ongoing and upcoming union contracts. Thornhill says they have “good news” on this front. Six out of seven unions have pending contracts or upcoming negotiations.
Thornhill emphasizes a few times that it takes time to successfully negotiate union contracts. She also says they have “great union relations”.
Board member Garcia asks if there are penalties for contracts that have been expired for a long time. Thornhill says no. She notes in the interim, employees are placed on city employment terms. She says these are “not good” for employees.
A board member asks Thornhill, going forward, to include how many employees are part of each union in her presentation. She proceeds to give these numbers verbally: …
AME: 22 employees
MBTC: 9
UWUA: 9
AFSCME: 228
SAAA: 8
Teamsters: (Did I miss this one?)
APCI: 24
Thornhill says UWUA is for their field employees. She notes that it has been difficult to recruit employees for this category.
👉 The board proceeds to other matters. There are none.
👉 The next HR Committee meeting will be Sep. 7, 2022.
One board member says they’ll be absent at that meeting.
⏱ At 3:14 p.m., this meeting adjourns! Stay tuned for the Customer Service Committee meeting!
⌚️ At 3:15 p.m., the Customer Service Committee meeting resumes. The board approves the agenda, as well as the minutes from this committee’s meeting in July.
No-one requests to make public comment.
✉️ Now to communications.
Items 22-0875 (previous customer service presentation), 22-0894 (Hydrate Detroit), 22-0897 (customer correspondence): The board approves to receive all these correspondence.
🧳 Unfinished business: Matthew Phillips joins to say they were unable to reach out to a customer who had a service issue, which is the only item here.
💼 At 3:19 p.m., the board proceeds to new business.
📊 Phillips gives a presentation on their customer service performance. He highlights their recent award for contactless customer service. https://t.co/TqPbyptl0D
Philips talks about one case where a customers wanted to pay a bill in-person, after getting locked out of their online account.
A board member says they still need to maintain their in-person customer service personnel.
Phillips adds that they have signage directing customers to DWSD’s online resources.
Phillips goes over June 2022 performance numbers. They had a 21% increase in customer service calls and emails. He says this was almost twice the amount they expected. … https://t.co/fhrOLVdzo7
Phillips says the average speed of call answers was about two minutes for emergencies and 11 minutes for other calls, an improvement compared to previous years. He says their customer satisfaction “has not slipped”.
A board member asks why this information wasn’t presented graphically. Phllips goes to the relevant slide. https://t.co/UyFUEDZjHo
Call center data: Phillips says their performance has remained “relatively consistent”. He has highlighted the relevant numbers in red, after a board member suggested this at last month’s meeting. (I remember that…) https://t.co/EnT3qohxGT
Phillips says they would need 97 agents to answer calls faster, but remarks that Rahman would probably disapprove of hiring that many people. …
He says that after the introduction of several initiatives – Lifeline Plan, water line warranty program, Basement Backup Protection Program – they’ve had to answer more calls.
Phillips briefly highlights an award they gave to an employee, then talks about how customers make payments. Phillips says “nearly half of our customers” or 42% use DWSD’s online portal. https://t.co/tGOLCDqBJH
Board member Garcia asks whether bank accounts and debit cards could be enrolled into automatic payments. Phillips says this has been the case for the past 24 months. …
Garcia asks how many people have enrolled in this. No answer, but another board member emphasizes the need to make this process more “intuitive”.
Yet another board member says making their online systems more intuitive would be costly. Someone else says they’ve been pushing customers to Wayne Metro for some customer assistance.
The board continues to discuss automatic payments. Someone’s microphone is muted and I can’t hear them.
👉 The board proceeds to discuss the planning calendar. Tamara Smith, customer service supervisor, takes over this presentation to discuss training and quality assurance.
They have a five-week training program for new hires. https://t.co/iT2vP7PG5v
Oh gosh, they use Kahoot games.
Smith notes that they follow COVID-19 protocols during new hire training.
A board member asks if they do re-training. Smith says they do for any failed modules.
Smith reviews how they transition new hires to the real work environment. She says they offer lots of words of encouragement to new hires. https://t.co/XI6HczDymO
A board member asks whether 30 minutes is long enough for employees to complete self-paced training. Smith says longer training periods are available upon approval. Phillips clarifies that this training is separate from scheduled weekly training.
A board member asks if the American Water Resources has their own customer service line for the water line warranty program. Smith says yes, but customers still call DWSD to be directed to the correct place.
Smith says they’ve gotten many calls asking whether the water line warranty program is real.
Smith notes that the HR and the customer service departments use the Easygenerator service for their training programs.
Smith shows a behind-the-scenes look of their Easygenerator training program. She shows a page about the Lifeline Plan. https://t.co/oAPLbqug3Q
A board member suggests if the customer service department receives calls about the Lifeline Plan, they should redirect them to Wayne Metro. https://t.co/3SHYtvNloU
More behind-the-scenes.
Smith also highlights a few employees who completed the administrative assistant certification program. https://t.co/HdqFwqlmgf
Phillips comes back to present a public service announcement on how catch basins work. He says many customers call to report that catch basins are filled with water, but that is by design. … https://t.co/ugl0Anae5k
Phillips emphasizes that blocked catch basins do not cause basement flooding. This is instead caused by private sewer lines.
A board member asks how they will share these infographics. Phillips says DWSD will share them on social media.
Another board member asks if they will advise customers against flushing “flushable” wipes. Phillips says this is his next month’s PSA.
👉 The next Customer Service Committee meeting will be Sep. 7, 2022.
⏱ At 4:02 p.m., the meeting adjourns! That’s it!!
DWSD’s next meeting will be the Board of Water Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 17: https://detroitmi.gov/events/board-water-commissioners-august-2022-meeting
That’s my live coverage of these Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Board of Water Commissioners Committee Meetings. As always, thank you for following along!
Find more on your local government and become a Documenter yourself at @DetDocumenters: https://detroit.documenters.org/
Corrections may follow below. Read these tweets on Mastodon (@civicDetroitDan@a2mi.social): https://a2mi.social/@civicDetroitDan/108759720194436627