News File Photo The Alpena water tower is seen in this August 2024 Alpena News file photo.

ALPENA — Officials from Alpena Township and Alpena will be back in court on Tuesday as part of the ongoing court dispute over water and sewer rates.

The two municipalities have been in litigation for more than a decade over the rates the city charges the township for water and sewer services.

The city sells water to the township and the township believes the city overcharged the township because the township considers itself a wholesale customer.

At Tuesday’s 1:30 p.m. proceeding, attorneys for both sides will have an opportunity to submit last-minute briefs and argue their positions before 26th Circuit Court Judge Ed Black gives his ruling on the fairness of rates proposed to him by the city and township during a brief trial in September.

Black said on Friday that he may or may not issue a ruling on Tuesday.

In September, the city proposed water rates the township would pay for the years 2014 through 18 that ranged from $3.80 per 1,000 gallons to $4.10 per 1,000 gallons. Sewer rates would range from $3.60 per 1,000 gallons to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons.

The township called those rates too high and presented rates to the judge township officials considered fairer. Those rates were included on a document and the amount was not shared with those in the courtroom gallery.

It is possible that, when Black makes his ruling, one side or the other could file an appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals, extending the litigation and increasing the cost of the local governments’ mounting legal bills.

The two sides have spent millions of dollars on attorney and consultant fees.

Litigation began in 2014, and, as the dispute moved forward, the two parties continued to bargain on the side but made little to no progress over the years.

In 2017, the circuit court ordered the two sides into mediation. That lasted only one day, however, as city officials didn’t see enough progress to continue.

A settlement appeared likely early in 2018, when both governing boards voted to approve “principle terms” for an agreement.

That vote wasn’t for a deal on rates, but on seeking a process for establishing rates that could end the dispute.

After continuing negotiations failed to yield a deal, the local court essentially ordered the two sides to adhere to the terms they’d reached earlier in the year.

Shortly after, the township appealed a portion of that ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the city filed a cross-appeal. The appellate court also ordered mediation, which again yielded no agreement.

The appeals court then ruled that the proposed agreement was non-binding, which the township appealed to the state Supreme Court. The state’s highest court declined to hear the case and sent it back to the circuit court in Alpena.

During the initial hearing in circuit court, then-judge Michael Mack ordered the opening of an escrow account in the name of both governments. Mack required the township to deposit into that account the difference between the old rates the township had paid and the higher rates the city set for all of its customers.

The township’s latest audit shows $3.6 million in that account as of March 31, 2023.

That audit says Alpena wants the township to pay about $13.5 million in late fees.

Over the last few years, the two municipalities have worked together toward establishing a new authority that would oversee water and sewer operations for both governments.

The two sides reached a draft agreement on a water and sewer authority early in 2022.

However, that plan fell apart, leaving the fate of the matter in the court’s hands.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.