Attorney picked to represent county on water board

Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner John P. McCulloch has selected Bloomfield Hills attorney J. Bryan Williams to be Oakland County’s representative on a new Detroit Board of Water Commissioners, the panel that oversees the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and has authority over the water and sewer rates charged to about 130 municipal customers in the region.

According to McCulloch, he selected Williams because of his long history of public service and superior legal acumen.

“Those qualities will make him a valuable addition to the Water Board,” McCulloch said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bryan for many years and know that he will represent the people of Oakland County with uncompromising excellence.”

Williams specializes in corporate governance, municipal law and finance.

According to the terms of a recent stipulated federal court order, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties each nominate an individual for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing to appoint to the city’s new seven-member Water Board. The nominees must have at least seven years of experience in a regulated industry, a utility, engineering, law or finance.

“Bryan far exceeds those qualifications,” McCulloch said. “He has represented my office in numerous municipal bond financings, which means that not only is he an excellent attorney, he understands the type of financial issues he’ll be facing as a member of the water board.”

A former vice chairman of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Williams served on the board of directors of the Detroit Economic Club and currently serves on the Birmingham Planning Board.

Although the three suburban counties remain in the minority, the new Water Board’s by-laws require a supermajority of five votes to approve water and sewer service rates and a five-year capital improvement plan.