Letter To The Editor On Sewer Rates By County Commissioner Bruce Ungethiem

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Response to last Wednesday’s unsigned Editorial By The Evansville Courier and Press Titled “Rural residents Chose To Pay More”

First, all the residents of Vanderburgh county voted to defeat the ill fated Consolidation plan several years ago, in fact the anonymous author seemed to fail to remember that 59% of the city residents voted to defeat this plan. Should they then pay extra for their sewers?

Second, there was a section in the plan (7.2.1) indicating a pledge to  equalize  the sewer rates over a three year period  but suffice it to say the people have heard promises from politicians before and this was just another promise in this document that the voters did not believe in.

The fact is that rural residents that are connected to the sewer system pay higher rates because the State law allows it, the City run public utility asked for it, the City appointed utility board passed it, and the City elected City council voted for it. Do you see a pattern here? All City appointed or elected people decided to charge more for a public utility to a group of people who have no power to remove them from their position. Sounds like “Taxation without representation”

To make matters worse the State government which allows this to happen also allows the Evansville Sewer system to operate unregulated by the IURC (Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission).  So when the State law says ” the burden of proof to demonstrate that the proposed rates and charges are nondiscriminatory, reasonable, and just is on the municipality”  (IC8-1.5-3-8 Sec 8.3g), the State should regulate that condition. I don’t think the State legislators would approve of using the median income of the rural residents being higher than the median income of city residents,  as a demonstration of reasonable or just cause for increased sewer fees (City council meeting Oct 28, 2013).

Finally, if you look at the proposed remediation plan that the city has proposed as I have, you will find that of the some $540 million dollars planned to be spent on the remediation of the Evansville sewers and not one penny of it is being spent outside the city limits of Evansville. With friends like this who needs enemies.  First they charge you more money for the same service as city residents then vote to make you pay more to fix the problems that reside only within the city and more specifically within the area of the city that has combined storm and sanitary sewer systems. I thought we were all one big happy community?

I challenge the rural residents to contact your State legislators and the IURC and demand to stop this nonsense and change the law to prevent this from happening again. If the State is going to pass a law, then they should be required by that law to enforce its conditions. Residents of the rural community are willing to pay their fair and equal share but should no longer stand still while the public utility discriminates against them with unreasonable and unjust sewer rates.

Bruce Ungethiem

Vanderburgh County Commissioner, District 2

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7 COMMENTS

  2. Bruce, as our elected County official, ” I challenge you to contact your State legislators and the IURC and demand to stop this”.

    Also, a bushel of raspberries to the Courier & Press Editorial in which it basically said that the County citizens “had our chance to have equalized rates, all we had to do was approve the Consolidation”. Bulllllllshiiiiiittttt ! The vote on consolidation is on a form of government. The fact that the Mayor–desiring a bigger kingdom–throws out a gift if you vote for his new empire means nothing. What is essential: is there a bona-fide study which demonstrates that the higher rate charged to County users is justified by proportionately higher costs to deliver those services to County users ?

    If such a study doesn’t exist, then Bruce needs to rally the County citizens, again, and get this injustice in front of the IURC.

  3. Like some petulant juvenile,– with their Editorial about the County Sewer Rates, the C&P Principals choose to thumb their collective noses at those Citizens that think for themselves, and rejected by a wide margin the advice of “The Corporation”.
    Despite the C&P’s delusion of being the Voice of the Community, a more direct perspective of that rejection of “The Corporation’s View”– from the Voters?
    “Take your Delusion,– and Shove it”!

  4. I may be wrong but don’t some folks live in the county to get out of paying higher taxes and utilities but love to shop and work in the city and use same but not help pay for it like the city folks do. Plus they have less crime , noise, fresher air and this is also free to them to . So what is there problem with paying a little more to run a sewer and water line to there home way out there.. I`L be glad to let them share my higher property taxes to, come to think about it I might sell my east side home and move out to Warrick Co. and pocket the savings.

    • There are a multitude of houses for sale in Warrick County, Ralph, and I would theorize your absence in Vanderburgh County, because we know you wouldn’t return to work and shop here, would not be a burden to us.

      It would have been impolite to say “don’t let the door hit you in the butt”.

  5. I would agree the $540 million spent on remediation for sewers within the city limits should be paid by the citizens who live within the city limits. The irony of rural residents paying a 30% premium on a $540 million sewer project in the urban core is palpable.

    Minimally, the sewer and water rates should be the same county-wide.

    Something doesn’t smell right with this taxation without representation, and I’m not talking about the combined sewers.

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