RICHMOND, IN — Richmond Common Council members decided to again table an ordinance on raising the city’s sewer and stormwater rates after more members from the community expressed their concerns Tuesday night.
The majority of those citizens live on the south side of the city near where the Richmond Sanitary District is planning to expand the Midwest Industrial Park, asking why they should pay for storm drains that aren’t installed in their area.
“I live on the south end of town,” Eric Sandlin said. “Been down there for 24 years of paying $6 a month for storm drains that we don’t have. After the last meeting, Mr. (Larry) Parker told me to meet with Elijah (Welch, district engineer for the sanitary district), gave him my name and number, and just like last April, never heard back from him. Went up to town to show him videos of all the flooding we’ve had down there, and like I’ve said, he’s never responded back one time.”
Sandlin said he has paid about $1,700 in stormwater fees since he has lived there, but it has been for nothing.
Councilman Jerry Purcell said he visited the area in question and confirmed there were no storm drains in the area.
“It’s obviously a really terrible situation as far as the water run-off into the residential area,” he said. “It does need to be addressed.”
Several other south-side residents talked about experiences with flooding. That included Tim Long, who said a couple of years ago during a bad storm, his basement filled up and took out his new furnace that cost him $300 to repair.
“I got a letter back from Elijah and it kind of upset me,” Long said. “The letter stated that they were aware of the situation and therefore they were not liable.”
Welch was not at the meeting.
After the hearing, council President Larry Parker suggested those who spoke could give Pat Smoker, Richmond Sanitary District director, their contact information so that Welch can get into contact with them.
Before the public hearing, Smoker answered questions from council members, providing clarifications and reiterating what the rate increases would be over the four years, the next three at 6% and a 3% increase in 2029.
Under the proposed ordinance, residents would see their monthly stormwater bill rise from an average of $6 to $6.90 in 2026, $7.95 in 2027, $9.18 in 2028 and $9.40 in 2029.
Additionally, residents would see their sewer bills rise from an average $55.23 a month to $67.74 by 2029, based on a family’s average usage of 4,000 gallons a year.
Shawn Andre also spoke against the rate increase, saying the city owns several acres in the industrial park without any development and calling into question the likelihood of a company using the new area within the next five to 10 years.
“Why are we considering putting ourselves into debt to get new factories to come when the factories like Blue Buffalo, Anchor and Liberation Labs that have come in the past five plus years or so have not helped our poverty rate?” he asked. “It has been growing since they’ve been here.”
Parker said the sanitary district has its own board, with authority to fix most of the concerns brought to them Tuesday night. He suggested residents contact those board members, but those attending said they are against the raising of rates when they don’t have storm drains.
Wayne County commissioner Jeff Plasterer was the only person to speak on the side of those in favor of the ordinance. But he said he isn’t in favor or opposed, rather talking about the collaboration of the county and city on economic development.
“The Midwest Industrial Park is one of the most effective tools available to us for attracting employers and employees to Wayne County,” he said.
Councilman Doug Goss made the motion to table the ordinance so that members can investigate it further. All voted in favor.
Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email at eweaver@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Ordinance to raise sewer, stormwater rates in Richmond tabled again after more concerns
Reporting by Evan Weaver, Richmond Palladium-Item / Richmond Palladium-Item
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