Commissioner Bohannon discusses concerns with Regional Sewer District debt

Marshall County Commissioner Jesse Bohannon “opened a kettle of worms” during Monday’s meeting.  He said he was contacted by a constituent who lives on Lake Latonka Sunday with concerns about the Regional Sewer District.  Bohannon said, “I don’t know why the perception is amongst the public in that area. I don’t know how you could have missed the conversation two years ago about the establishment of the sewer district, but she was quite concerned about all the implications around the building of the sewer system down there.”

The commissioner went online and viewed the sewer board's most recent meeting. He said they are applying for grants, but the availability of grants has significantly diminished in recent years.  Bohannon said, “With what is going on in Washington, there will be a lot of cuts probably to a lot of these programs.”

At this point, the Regional Sewer Board anticipates charges for the service running as high as $220 a month per household, which is about double the initial estimates. 

Bohannon said a board member asked during the sewer meeting, "If we don’t get the grants, do we still go forward with this project?" With grant funds, the monthly bill to homeowners would be about half of the current estimate. He said they responded, “That this board will have to make that decision.”

Commissioner Bohannon said the Regional Sewer Board has already incurred $500,000 in debt and borrowed $3 million.  He questioned, “If they choose not to move forward with this project, who is on the line for the debt they have incurred?” He said, “I’ve got some big concerns about that.  I think it’s irresponsible to have incurred $500,000 worth of debt before you answer a basic question like that.”   

Five of the seven Regional Sewer Board members were appointed by the commissioners. Bohannon said he would like the board's president to come and present to the council and commissioners about their status, ensuring the commissioners were providing proper oversight. 

Commissioner Adam Faulstich stated that the board is independent and questioned whether the commissioners have any oversight over the board or its actions. The power was delegated to the sewer board. Faulstich explained that this structure was established to ensure their complete independence from the county. 

County Attorney Sean Surrisi said he didn’t know anything about it. Still, if there had been a bond issuance, it would have been structured so that payments would not be made for the first couple of years, and anticipated revenues from users would pay for the bond payments. 

Bohannon said, “One of the big concerns for me when we set this up, and Mr. Harmon and I voted against this when it came before the council almost three years ago now, that it’s an appointed board, and so the people in that area don’t have any input on who represents them there.  This board controls who serves on that board.”

Commissioner Bohannon said he had no answers but wanted to share the constituent's concerns and his concern that “they put the cart before the horse on this project.”  He said, “I hope it doesn’t become a mess.”    

Commissioner Stan Klotz said, “I can’t seem to stay out of trouble, so I will go ahead and say it.  I’ve looked at this and what they’ve done.  A couple of things: there was no bidding process.  Let me be perfectly clear: nobody did anything illegal; nobody did anything wrong, but there is no bid process for some of these services.”  Klotz said that with the bid process, you get a better price and things done cheaper.

Bohannon stated that they are paying Baker Tilly $6,000 monthly for their financial reporting and have hired Ice Miller, one of the state's higher-charging firms in Indiana, as their attorney. 

Commissioner Adam Faulstich agreed to contact the Regional Sewer and ask if they would be willing to update the commissioners on the project.