Posted on 07/21/2014 2:29:53 PM PDT by PoloSec
Last week, a bankruptcy judge ordered the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to come up with answers for helping residents pay their overdue water bills, in light of the thousands of shut-off notices the agency has issued across the city. While the water authority must present its alternatives in court today, two resourceful women have already come up with one solution.
Turn on Detroit's Water is a website that matches donors with Detroiters who are struggling to pay their water bills. The site invites residents with overdue bills to submit their information. From there, the site—which is the work of Tiffani Ashley Bell and Kristy Tillman—matches them with donors willing to assume their obligation.
Here's how it works: Detroit account holders who owe $250 or less to DWSD can enter their information through a simple form-based site. Required info includes address, account number, past due and current charges, and account balance. The information is then verified through the Detroit Water and Sewage Department website.
Would-be donors simply submit an email address. Once a donor is matched with an account holder, the donor then receives all the account information required to pay the overdue bill. The donor can't see the Detroit account holder's name, though, unless the account holder asks to reveal it.
As Bell recounts, the project was sparked in a discussion over Twitter.
Bell and Tillman's site indicates that only individual residents are eligible to participate—so a donor won't be asked to pay on one of the city's many delinquent corporate accounts. Some 4,400 homes remained without water in late June, according to reports. The department announced today that it was suspending shut-offs for the next 15 days to give delinquent account holders time to seek help.
Tillman says by email that they began looking for residents in need on Friday and that they had identified several by this morning. Word of mouth has spread faster among donors. "We've got over 100 donors from allover the place who are getting matched up with people in Detroit right now thanks to sharing their email addresses with us," she says.
Representatives at DWSD didn't respond right away about whether they will direct delinquent customers to seek help on Tillman and Bell's website.
Will the account holders ever know it was me who didn’t make a donation?
Oh yeah. I’m gonna run right out and pay the givmedat’s water bills. (Like h*ll am)
Actually, this is how charity is supposed to work. Government taking money from one person to hand over to another is NOT charity. People choosing to help other people in need IS charity. However, I do think this impersonal type of charity often leads to fraud or abuse. It appears they send the donor the other person’s account information, so that probably makes it more likely the donation will actually go where intended.
What’s not known is why the person is in need in the first place. A donor has no idea whether they are paying the bill of an gang banger, drug addict, or simply a good person who is down on their luck.
Regardless, it’s very honorable to want to help other people, and this is completely voluntary. Anyone who doesn’t like it isn’t forced to participate.
Dayum why don’t my obummer phone have and app for all these stupid bills from the Gubment?! Geeze!
I just filled my pool last month and my next water bill is going to be a doozy. Won’t you please help?????
Hang on...let me get my billfold.
Unfortunately for the needy in this case I’ve seen many of them on the news recently. I didn’t care for their attitude, so, sorry, no charity.
Remember this is bigger than non-payment and trying to get folks to pay their bill.
The Water Dept is a huge Asset in Detwaa's Bankruptcy and what will become of it...
Go here for starters:
http://michiganradio.org/post/no-grand-bargain-detroits-water-department-orr-considers-private-bids
They’re trying to eliminate debt to make private investors happy and attract more.
The complaining and whining are actually good signs. As the water department is increasingly privatized they won’t allow themselves to accumulate so much debt.
“If I want to pay someone’s water bill, I’ll do it for a neighbor.”
Remember the set-up where the Planned Parenthood rep was willing to take a donation that specifically was to be used for a black woman’s abortion?
Yes, I do.
I wonder what would happen if you offered to pay a Detroit resident’s water bill, but only for a married couple with children, no single parents.
“I wonder what would happen if you offered to pay a Detroit resident’s water bill, but only for a married couple with children, no single parents.”
Brilliant!
One of the advantages of private charity is that the donor can use it to encourage smart choices on the part of the recipient.
Next is pay up or I will mug you.com
Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Apple Honchos, Google top executives seem to all be big liberals. They could pay these Detroit water bills with the change jangling around in their pockets.
“One of the advantages of private charity is that the donor can use it to encourage smart choices on the part of the recipient.”
Certainly; the government is driving charities out of business to solidify their hold on who gets what. Years ago many charities were faith-based; now most of them have been reduced to government agencies posing as religious organizations (dependent on government funding).
“I’m sure all Oprah can drop a few million in there.”
Yo J-Z!!!
Dr Dre
Beyonce !!!
Yo Puff Daddy!!!
And all those rich NBA players
Squatters of real residents?
Unless this is a scam on LIB idiots, I think the gibmedats can pay their own bills. Just cut back on the crack, bro.
I’m sposen the util coes don take ebt cards on top dat.
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