The Columbus Utility Board will meet Friday to consider interim leadership while the search for a new city utilities executive director continues.
Mary Ferdon, city executive director of administration and community development, said the board will consider a contract for an interim executive director at a special meeting on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Human resources staff and the city engineer are working with utilities staff to “provide technical and administrative support,” she said.
“The Columbus City Utilities Board and Columbus Utilities Management team continue to place a high value on providing safe water and wastewater services,” Ferdon said.
The city of Columbus announced Feb. 26 that (now former) City Utilities Executive Director Scott Dompke was no longer an employee of the utilities department.
“We appreciate his work and effort for the city,” Ferdon said in a statement about Dompke’s departure. She said that the city would begin the process of hiring a replacement and announce an interim leadership plan.
Dompke was with the city for about two and half years, city officials said.
In June of 2020, he and city utilities announced a proposed water rate increase for the water utility to pay for repairs to aging infrastructure.
In January, the pending rate case reached a proposed settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and the Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. Under the proposed agreement, customers would see an overall rate increase of almost 75% over the next three years. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has not yet chosen whether to approve, deny or modify the agreement.
In addition to that plan, a rate increase for the city’s sewer utility could go into effect in June. A rate study for the sewer utility began Dec. 1 and was expected to take about 90 days.
