Enough already.

How long must Alpena City and Township residents wait to see resolution of the ongoing conflict over water rates?

This issue has dragged on for way too long already, and recent action only threatens to delay a resolution even further.

On April 27 city officials ended their participation with the current mediator. While officials said through a press release they would be receptive to still use a mediator, they did not want to participate any further with the current one — Mark Beauchamp of Utility Financial Solution.

Township officials met in executive session earlier in the week to discuss the issue, but did not make any comment about it after.

Adding insult to injury to the whole situation was the announcement at council earlier this week that city residents would be seeing a 4.47 percent increase in their bills this summer, provided council approves the proposed city budget later this month.

Residents in both the city and township are caught in the middle. The longer this disagreement goes on, it tends to add to the uncertainty regarding the future of water supply between the entities.

We hope 26th Circuit Court Judge Michael Mack soon will step back into this fray and push both sides to either a meaningful compromise or into court for a trial.

The issue needs resolved, and resolved soon.