COLUMBUS, Ind. — Community members were recently given a chance to weigh in on Columbus City Utilities’ request for a water rate increase.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor held a field hearing Wednesday night for the proposed rate increase.
Brad Pope, the presiding administrative law judge for the proceeding, noted it was “the commission’s first virtual field hearing.” Most attendees, including four IURC commissioners, were present through a video call.
Members of the public were invited to offer comment by phone or in person at the Belvedere Room of Hotel Indigo (while wearing a mask and following social distancing protocols). There was also a YouTube livestream for those who wished to watch but not speak. The video has since been taken down.
Only one individual offered testimony at Wednesday’s hearing. Mary Beth Clauss, a customer of the city water utility, attended in person at the Hotel Indigo. She spoke about how rate increase might be a strain on some customers, especially those who have lost jobs amid the pandemic.
“It is really a difficult time for people,” she said. “And to add another burden, financial burden, on them might only make our economy worse. We know that people have moratoriums on evictions, so they haven’t been paying rent, but that’s going to come due. And so this might place an undue burden financially and hurt the economy even more. So the timing seems a little bit callous, given the current climate.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
