INDIANAPOLIS — Lawrence Mayor Dean Jessup recently thanked the Lawrence Common Council for its move to save city residents money and enable the city to undertake projects to mitigate erosion and flooding.
The council voted to establish the Lawrence Storm Water Board, the first step toward Lawrence’s withdrawal from the Marion County Storm Water Management District. The council is expected to formally withdraw from the district and establish the Lawrence Department of Storm Water Management at its Jan. 21 meeting.
“With this vote, members of the Lawrence Common Council ensured that Lawrence’s erosion and flooding problems are addressed in a timely way,” the mayor said. “This willingness to cooperate with our plan means that we will keep the fees our residents pay here in the city to do work here in the city.
For many years, Lawrence residents have been paying into a countywide storm water fund that ostensibly addresses flooding and erosion problems across the county. An Indianapolis ordinance calls for fees paid by Lawrence to be used on projects in Lawrence, minus administrative costs.
However, though Lawrence residents have paid more than $900,000 a year for several years, they have received virtually nothing in return. The future is no more promising; not one Lawrence project is included in the district’s plan that will be in place through 2018.
The City-County Council on Monday adopted Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s plan to raise storm water fees by 47 percent, effective July 1. Under Mayor Jessup’s plan for Lawrence, residents’ fees will remain at their current level and all revenue collected will stay in Lawrence to be used on Lawrence projects.