Time for a change in Waterloo

[afoundryrat]

I hope everyone votes in Waterloo. I see a couple good candidates running for council. Waterloo has a huge problem on its hands. The outragiously high Water and Sewage bill. On average people in Waterloo are paying more for this one bill.
Then home owners in Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Shaker Heights ( wealthy part of Cleveland). The list goes on.

This huge water and sewage bill is the brain child of the city manager. I see alot of things that have happened since he was hired. The street lights. They look nice, but Im glad I dont have one in my front yard. There almost as bright as the sun. (but I can see the for sale signs in ther front yards better at night) The clock looks nice too, hidden next to the railroad crossing like it is.

And how fast he brought up new private well ordinaces after a couple of homeowners installed there own private wells. We cant forget the four corners at the traffic light. They look nice. We really needed those corners redone. After all we have (hundreds of semi-trucks that turn there all the time.

One may ask. Where did all this money come from? Grants! This is good. I say how about looking into some grant money to pay for the sewage treatment plant off. (I hope that this isnt just a way to fill the town coffers) The growth of Waterloo depends on economic living for the homeowners as well. I drive around the town and count over 100+ homes up for sale. This doesnt say much for growth.

As for new industries coming to Waterloo. I would have them ask The Car Wash what they think of there water bill. I imagine the car wash owners would of thought twice about locating in Waterloo, had they known the water and sewage would go sky high a couple a years later. The sad part is that Waterloo homeowners are at the mercy of the high water and sewage rates. If the Town Manager wanted to charge a dollar a gallon for water. He could.
Since Waterloo has less then 5000 people. The State of Indiana Public Utilities Commision has no authority over them.

Im sure the Town Manager knows this.

The town has a chance to turn this around. Put some men on the council, that arent afraid to get the job done, and do there job! Do we really need a Town Manager? Isnt that what a council is for? Could that salary he receives be better spent towards the sewage treatment plant decefit?

Hopefully we can get this attutude of the town must make a profit at all cost out of the city powers to be minds. I would hate to see the town of Waterloo end up a ghost town. Maybe someday we will have a 5000+ population and a mayor as well. Dont forget to vote. I know I am!

[Night Fire]

What is the water rate?
How much per thousand gallons?

[afoundryrat]

A typical bill for 7000 gallons of water is $56.60 plus $3.40 tax. The sewage is $79.62. Total plus garbage is $148.92. Some folks are paying close to $300.00 or more per month. Ofcourse you need not ask the Waterloo Town Manager or the Waterloo Water Dept. Supervisor if this is what they pay. Since these two gentlemen live in Auburn.

Also, a little known fact, some Waterloo residents are required to have there own wells. The town decided it wasnt in its financial interest to hook them up to the town water. Same for the sewage as well. Some residence have to use there own sewage systems.

No wonder theres so many houses up for sale.

[NursePatti]

We thought our bill was high here.I'm glad you guys informed us.We sure wouldn't want to buy a home there.How do you guys manage the high bill month after month? Would hauling in bottled water from the store be cheaper?

[Night Fire]

The city of Angola's rates are not far from that, with the sewage charges typically being double the water. That is why we sold our houses in Angola.

[NursePatti]

WOW! It would be really hard to raise a family with that kind of expense.I guess they wouldn't let you put your own well down either.

[afoundryrat]

WOW! It would be really hard to raise a family with that kind of expense.I guess they wouldn't let you put your own well down either.

Believe or not that water bill I posted was with the "lawn sprinkling discount". Maybe now that we have some new blood on the Town council. Things might change for the better.

One things for shure. It cant get much worse with the Town Manager running the show. He has done so much to hurt this town. Maybe thats why he built his new home in Auburn.

In the near future a group of us concerned citizens plan on getting a pettition signed to get rid of the Town Manager.

[NursePatti]

I mentioned this to a co worker.She couldn't believe it.Do you guys need help with a revolution up there? She has a mom that lives in Butler IN and is also calling her to let her know.

[blueangel]

The city of Angola's rates are not far from that, with the sewage charges typically being double the water. That is why we sold our houses in Angola.

I am thinking about moving back to the Angola area here in the near future...(I was raised there and moved away)... what do the Angola rates really look like? What is a typical bill there?
Just wondering what I have to look forward to.

[Mike_Walter]

If people in Waterloo are unhappy with their town government, why don't they push to convert to a Class 3 city? That has drawbacks, but the stong point is having an elected executive accountable for the way things run. It takes a population of 2,000 to be eligible to convert to city status. Waterloo had a population of 2,200 at the last census. By comparison, Butler is a Class 3 city with a population of 2,725. For anyone interested in learning more about the procedure, here's the link: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/cod...ar4/ch1.5.html.

If water rates are your main complaint and converting to a Class 3 city seems too drastic, then why not get your municipal water utility back into the regulatory framework of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor? You can get that on the ballot with a fairly simple petition procedure. The petition has to be signed by a number of registered voters equal to two percent of the total vote cast in Waterloo for Secretary of State in 2006. The DeKalb County Clerk can tell you just how many valid signatures you'd need. Here's the link: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/cod...ar1.5/ch3.html. Scroll down to IC 8-1.5-3-9.6 to find the petition procedure.

[afoundryrat]

Thank you for the information Mike. I have been in contact with Ronald Keen the director of the Indiana Office Of Utility Consumer Counselor as well. A few concerned citizen are also thinking on passing a pettition around town to do away with the City Manager postion entirely. And re-inacting the town ordinance for town employees being town residence only.

[GeoffD]

We need changes from top to bottom in the way this country is run. The situation here in Waterloo is being repeated all over this country with slight variations because politics has become about what is in it for me (and, to a lesser extent, my party). We need Obama in the White House and change in Waterloo, too!

[WaZoo1]

Wasn't the Town Manager hired to get more business to come to Waterloo?
What new business have come with out a high price tag to residents?
The Town Manager is running everything in this Town. It's time to put the heat on the council. They are responsible for his actions.

[Twoten]

The city of Angola's rates are not far from that, with the sewage charges typically being double the water. That is why we sold our houses in Angola.

The rate in Angola for 7,000 gallons is $36.98 for water plus tax and $47.60 for sewage or $84.58 plus tax.

[afoundryrat]

If I remember right. The town manager was hired to 'free up" the town council members time. Maybe now that theres some new blood on the council. They might set an example for the older members to do the job they were elected to do.

This town manager was quoted in the Evening Star a few years ago stating that the water rates were gonna be raised to pay off the sewage treatment plant. Now, theres a cash surplus and the treatment plant is supposedly paid off.

I cant understand why. This city manager built a new house in Auburn, instead of Waterloo. He brags he has done such a great job since he has been employed by the town.

I think the town folks should get there signatures on a pettition to not only fire the Town manager, but to only have people that live in Waterloo work for Waterloo.

[happygolucky]

I have some friends that live in Waterloo. They pay three times as much as me. They pay over 80 bucks for water and sewage. That is outrageous, better off to install a sistern and get an outhouse. I don't know about anybody else but i could take a crapola ouside to save some bucks.

On average for me I use 5,000 gal a month. My normal rate is 26-30 bucks a month for sewage and water. However I do not live in Waterloo. I live in Kville. They also just raised our rates last summer, which ticked some peeps off, but I told them what other areas pay and that shut them up.

Sounds to me like the people of Waterloo need to speak up and speak out!

[afoundryrat]

http://www.popsci.com/environment/ar...nted-tap-water

Check out this article about tainted drinking water in popular Science.

[matt_s]

We ran some stories on this topic a couple of weeks ago after the AP broke their story. The well systems in this area are clean, but don't take my word on it, here's the story.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/...e813436406.txt

[WaZoo1]

If I remember right. The town manager was hired to 'free up" the town council members time. Maybe now that theres some new blood on the council. They might set an example for the older members to do the job they were elected to do.

This town manager was quoted in the Evening Star a few years ago stating that the water rates were gonna be raised to pay off the sewage treatment plant. Now, theres a cash surplus and the treatment plant is supposedly paid off.

I cant understand why. This city manager built a new house in Auburn, instead of Waterloo. He brags he has done such a great job since he has been employed by the town.

I think the town folks should get there signatures on a pettition to not only fire the Town manager, but to only have people that live in Waterloo work for Waterloo.

The Town manager was wrong, you can not pay off the sewer debt with water funds without paying the money back to the water dept. That is why they also raised the sewer rate over 60% to pay back the sewer debt. The water rate was raised so improvements could be made at the water plant. I understand that the employee has cable TV in the break room. He has to keep up with the big cities.
You do not want to build your house in a place that you are considered to be the bad *****.

[afoundryrat]

Its sad, but true. people use illegal drugs. People also flush old perscription drugs down the toilet. In Chicago most drug stores offer free drug disposal. This still doesnt account for the illegal drugs in the contained water supply from there abuse.

I for one have my own well. I feel very safe using the water from it. I however have no trust for city water. One molecule of any legal or illegal drug in my water is to much. This however is my personal opinion and religious conviction.

How can I have a pure body, mind and spirit if the water I drink from my city water supply is tainted?

It just makes me wonder, how our forefathers survived without city water, sewage. The Amish seem to be doing alright in this dept. Although, they dont move into towns like Auburn, Waterloo, FtWayne etc. They dont want to fight city hall for there rights to use there own wells in town.