Suburbs vote to take control of Detroit water dept.; Macomb casts lone 'no' vote

The Great Lakes Water Authority approved a historic 40-year lease of the Detroit water system this morning, with the Macomb County representative casting the lone dissenting vote.
The 5-1 vote gives the suburbs considerable control over the massive water system that serves more than 100 communities across southeast Michigan and had been run by the city of Detroit since the 19th Century.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has repeatedly expressed concerns about the process of putting the GLWA in charge, particularly the closed-door meetings where the deal was crafted.

According to the Detroit Free Press, here is how the Macomb opposition played out at today's GLWA meeting:

Brian Baker, Macomb County's representative on the board, voted against approving the lease.
Baker raised concerns about costs associated with Detroit's unpaid water bills and whether the new regional operation will end up saving the suburbs money.
"At the end of the day, the certainties are only negative. We're paying more with too little say," he said. "A bad deal does not help the region."

Gary Brown, one of Detroit's two board members, said he disagreed with Baker's assessment.
"There was never any intent to shift costs to any community and I think this lease has done an outstanding job in ensuring every community, including Detroit, will be responsible for collections and pulling their own weight," Brown said.