Frequently Asked Questions

Only 33% of the taxes paid by homeowners stays with the City. The rest is sent to the State, County, the local school district, and other entities. 

Water and sewer rates generate approximately $5.7 million in annual revenue. Of this, $3.4 million or 60% is used to purchase water supply and sewage treatment services from GLWA. The remainder is largely dedicated to personnel, equipment, and repair costs associated with maintaining the water and sewer systems, including the pump stations.

The City continues to seek outside funding sources for assistance; however, the challenge is competition from other communities seeking the same funding. In the last two years, the City has applied for the State Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (DWRF) and has been scored 88th and 55th, placing the City outside of funding range by the State.

Grosse Pointe Park is a community with an above average median household income. This significantly reduces our ability to score high on applications for state loans and grants. Competition for the DWRF program is tough. In 2021, $250 million was available and 78 municipalities requested $768 million.

In addition, the DWRF program is a loan program, albeit one with a low interest rate of 2%. The City's denied application would have required the average utility bill to increase by $66 or $396 per year. This would have been for a period of 20 years and would only have addressed some water mains, lead service lines, and meters. There is a loan program for sewer improvements, and this is a funding source the City will pursue after analyzing the data from the recently completed sewer televising and cleaning program. However, the scoring method is similar to the DWRF program, which places Grosse Pointe Park in a disadvantage.

The City applied for the FEMA Building Resilient Communities Grant for funding of the Extreme Emergency Relief Valve, but was not awarded funding. Only 53 out of 788 applicants nationally were awarded funding.

The City will continue to apply for State funding in the loan program for water and sewer. If a project is awarded funding from the State or Federal Government, it would take more than a year to start the project after all approvals and regulatory compliance are reached.

Yes, when paying via ACH (banking account information) you will incur a $2.25 convenience fee charged through the vendor as well as, 3.00% fee if paying with credit or with debit card.

The Summer Taxes are due September 14^th, and the Winter Taxes are due February 14^th unless the dates fall on a weekend in which the due date will become the following business day. After February 14^th, late penalties will be accessed to the tax bill. Payments can be made at city hall through February 28^th for Summer and Winter Taxes.

The bill you pay contributes to capital project costs (i.e. water main breaks), your water usage is factored in, sewer services, recycling and Great Lakes Water (where we receive our water from)

Your water bill is due bi-monthly (the 10^th of every other month), which totals out to six bills a year.

1. Contact Water Billing at (313) 822-4380 at least 24 hours before closing or any change in tenancy.
2. Provide your name and phone number in case the Department of Public Works (DPW) needs access to the property.
3. You can choose to pick up your final water bill at City Hall or request it to be emailed to you.
4. Depending on your water meter, DPW may need access to the home to obtain an accurate meter reading. In some cases, the reading can be done remotely.

You can visit our Treasury webpage via our website at www.grossepointepark.org and click on the hyperlink in the middle of the webpage to take you through to Home | City of Grosse Pointe Park | BS&A Online (bsaonline.com)