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Water bill collections dropping amid Flint crisis

Posted at 8:51 AM, Jan 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-26 08:51:31-05

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A Flint official says the city’s water utility could run out of money by year’s end as more people skip paying bills amid the crisis with lead-tainted water.

City Administrator Natasha Henderson told city council members at a meeting Monday that the public health emergency is driving down collections on water bills. She says it’s an “imminent concern” and it is leaving the city in a “very precarious situation.”

The Flint Journal reports Henderson says conservative estimates indicate the water fund will be out of cash by December. Henderson says she and other city leaders have met with state officials about the utility’s financial problems.

On Monday, dozens of people protested in front of City Hall. Some say they shouldn’t have to pay for the water.