NEW PALESTINE — It was standing room only at New Palestine Town Hall as officials with the Town of New Palestine held a public hearing on proposed sewer rates increases at the most recent council meeting in October.
During the meeting, town officials also conducted the second reading on an ordinance amending current sewer rate for a $21.4 million renovation project.
Town officials brought in several key players to talk with the community, such as the town’s lead engineer, lead accountant and state bond official. They’ve all been instrumental in helping the town’s council come to the conclusion that the renovation project is needed.
Many residents are upset because rates are expected to go from $72 to $97.15 by Nov. 1, and then as high as $140.87 in 2026. If the town doesn’t take any action on their sewer plant need for the renovation, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management could take over operation of the plant.
It should also be noted that the current council is having to deal with the issue because previous councils did not address the need for a larger sewer plant, which has been on the table for years.
In 2019, the town spent $4.2 million to expand its sewer plant, raising customers’ rates to pay for it. At the time, leaders said the expansion would accommodate growth for years. However, due to growth and flow levels in the area, the facility was operating near capacity on the day it opened.
Morgan Hopkins is one of the many residents upset about the proposed rate increase and spoke at the meeting.
“We’ve bitten off more than we can chew with a bad set of teeth,” Hopkins said. “How does this make sense? Existing residents should not have to pay for this — new customers coming on should.”
Another town resident who spoke noted that he was upset because he didn’t receive information from the town about the rates going up until he received his last bill.
Council officials acknowledged that they would try to do a better job of communicating information to town residents, but that the sewer renovation has been a topic for many years.
Council president Teri Reed started the meeting reading then answering some frequently asked questions that had been emailed into the council, such as why are rates increasing.
Reed reminded residents that the topic has been discussed since 2021, but nothing is official on the proposed rate increases until the council votes on the project at the next council meeting on Oct. 28.
“That is worst-case scenario,” Reed said of the proposed price increase. “We’re still waiting for our construction bids to come in on the (October) the 23rd, and then we will be calculating the rates.”
Council member Ethan Maple reminded the crowd that other towns like Cumberland and Greenfield are also raising sewer rates over the coming years. Maple said that, thanks to growth in places like McCordsville, their rates actually went down, and he’s hoping that will happen in New Palestine.
“We’re hoping to see a similar decrease down the road,” Maple said.
Town officials also noted they did apply for a $3 million in grant funding to offset the cost of the renovation project, but applications were denied.
“But, the town did use $1.5 million town funds to lower the financial cost for residents,” Reed said.
