Detroit Goes After Wrong Church for $170K Electric Bill

City turned off water at Bishop Daryl Harris' house, too
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2015 2:12 PM CDT
Detroit Goes After Wrong Church for $170K Electric Bill
You messed up, Detroit.   (Shutterstock)

Detroit has had ongoing money issues, but the city may have been overzealous in trying to fill its coffers. Officials issued a mea culpa to Bishop Daryl Harris and his Total Life Christian Ministries church after slapping it with a lawsuit for a $170,000 electric bill, the Detroit Free Press reports. Harris may have owned up to the bill if it were actually his—but it turns out his church has a similar name to the church that really owes the money, one of 10 organizations Detroit went after in court for funds owed to the Detroit Public Lighting Department.

The city also shut off the water at the home he shares with his wife, 15-year-old twins, and elderly mother, then hit him a $30 reconnection fee. (He may get that money back, a department spokesman says.) The newspaper notes that 11 other homes had their water mistakenly shut off last month, while two local groups have lambasted the city for blight violations they received on properties they say they don't own. (A more heartwarming story out of Detroit: the $310K raised for a guy who walked 21 miles to work.)

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