By Becky Killian, Staff Writer

City employees will receive an eight percent raise in 2025, while emergency responders will each get a $7,000 raise. Those are the most recent numbers approved by a majority vote during the Monday, Sept. 9, meeting of the Salem Common Council. The raises don’t apply to elected positions.

Council members who voted in favor of the raises were Dan Libka, Dylan Moore, Steve Crane, and Randy Lee Jr. The opposing vote was cast by Roger Pennington.

The latest vote came on the heels of two special Common Council meetings during which the struggle of attracting and retaining quality public safety employees was discussed. Many towns, cities and counties have difficulty offering competitive wages to public safety employees, which can lead those employees to take more lucrative jobs elsewhere.

After those special meetings, the Council approved a $5,000 raise for each police officer and fire fighter and a six percent pay increase for all other city employees effective in 2025.

Before the Sept. 9 vote that increased the raise for emergency responders, a representative from Reedy Financial, the city’s financial consulting firm, explained that the 2025 budget revenue would be sufficient to cover the additional costs; however, “minor” revenue shortfalls could occur in 2026 and 2027.

The 2026 and 2027 budget forecasts include three percent raises for all city employees.

Moore asked Salem Police Chief Eric Mills if he would be willing to enact a hiring freeze during the two years of forecasted shortfalls if it is deemed necessary. Mills didn’t dismiss the possibility outright; however, he did say he would need to consider the impacts it might have.

Libka pointed out the dangers that emergency responders face.
“There’s always a chance that something bad is going to happen,” Libka said, adding that the city’s civilian employees needed to be considered, as well.

Pennington said the city’s starting salaries aren’t as low as they may seem when you consider paid holidays, retirement pensions, and clothing allowances.

Libka made the motion to increase the emergency responder pay raises to $7,000 and to give all civilian employees an eight percent raise in 2025 provided the budget can accommodate those increases. His motion was then approved in the majority vote.

During the special meetings, officials also approved a $2,000 stipend for police and fire personnel and a $1,500 stipend for all other city employees for this year; however, the payment of those stipends is contingent upon whether Clerk-Treasurer Sally Hattabaugh can find the funds in the current year’s budget to cover them. As of Monday, Sept. 16, Hattabaugh had yet to find the funding for those stipends.

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By Becky Killian, Staff Writer

Salem officials will use a projected $7.7 million loan to refinance existing debt used to upgrade Salem’s wastewater treatment plant and to make further improvements to the utility to remain compliant with state and federal guidelines. The financing – which included rate increase projections – was discussed during a special joint session of the Salem Board of Public Works and Safety and Common Council on Monday, Sept. 16.

The initial estimated cost to rehabilitate the city’s manholes, the lining on wastewater pipes, and required lift station improvements is $4.2 million. That amount, combined with non-construction costs of just over $1 million and the refinancing of the 2020 loan of $2.4 million, brings the total loan estimate to $7.7 million.

The 20-year low-interest loan will be financed through the state. The current subsidized loan rate is about 2 percent.

Andre Riley, of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, of Indianapolis, used an estimated rate of 2.5 percent to calculate the total loan interest of $2.3 million. The annual payments are projected to be $474,600.

The upgrades aim to reduce water infiltration into the city’s wastewater treatment system. During heavy rains, the system can be overwhelmed, which can lead to overflows of untreated water.

In 2019, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) fined the City of Salem $6,000 for violations by the city’s wastewater plant. Those violations included six instances when an estimated 3.5 million gallons of raw sewage was released into the West Fork of the Blue River. Those violations led to a mandate from the state to improve the city’s wastewater system.

The lift station improvements will include the installation of an automatic 24-hour monitoring system that will notify the operator of any system failures – which IDEM requires.

The projected rate increases Riley provided intend to make it possible for the wastewater utility to keep up with increasing operating costs and inflation, to build and maintain a cash balance as required by the state, and to fund further needed improvements.

The estimated rate increases – which could change – were phased in over three years as illustrated by Riley.

Currently, the average monthly bill for Salem wastewater customers who use 4,000 gallons is about $40. That amount would increase by about $6 in 2025, $7 in 2026, and $3 in 2027.

A rate comparison chart showed that the increases would put Salem in the low- to middle-range when compared to the wastewater rates of eight regional utilities. Those rates ranged from $31 in Bedford to $68.48 in Boonville.

The financing must be in place by June 1 to pay off the utility’s $2.4 million short-term loan. To meet that deadline, Wessler Engineering will begin to design the improvements in October and present them to the city in January. The rate increases will likely be approved in February or March before the anticipated loan closing date of March 31.

Before the vote, Mayor Justin Green cautioned that any delays with the wastewater improvements could result in consequences such as a possible sewer ban, which would stall the city’s growth.

“Let’s not push the panic button on that, but there is a cost to inaction,” Green said.

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• Government
• State of Indiana

Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit against an Indianapolis car dealer alleging the dealer illegally rolled back odometers on vehicles sold to unsuspecting consumers believing they were purchasing lower-mileage vehicles.

The lawsuit alleges that KBB Auto Sales LLC — along with owners and employees Brandon Billingsley, Shannon Hayes and Nicolas Fortinberry — rolled back odometers by a combined total of more than 14 million miles on 216 known vehicles.

“This outright fraud unfairly gives a bad name to the good and honest people working in the used-car business,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Worse than that, these unethical tactics deceive consumers who buy these vehicles with rolled-back odometers. They wind up with higher-mileage cars and trucks with more wear and tear than they thought.”

The lawsuit alleges that the odometer tampering violates the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, the Indiana Odometer Act, the Federal Odometer Act and the Motor Vehicle Unfair Practices Act.

Attorney General Rokita seeks injunctive relief, consumer restitution, treble damages, civil penalties, costs and other relief.

“We will always work to hold these businesses accountable when they engage in this kind of misconduct detrimental to consumers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “And we will always work to get restitution for Hoosiers who have fallen victim to such reprehensible schemes.”

Attorney General Rokita offers the following tips for Hoosiers shopping for used cars: 

• Do your research and know your budget prior to going to the dealership.
• Test drive the vehicle in a variety of conditions: highway, city streets and stop-and-go traffic.
• Get a vehicle history report to check for potential odometer issues, prior accidents and damage, salvage, rebuilt or flood damage title brands.
• Have an independent mechanic inspect the vehicle. 
• Check whether the vehicle has any open recalls, including safety recalls. This information can be obtained at safecar.gov.
• Ask to inspect the vehicle’s title, including the odometer disclosure. 
• Closely inspect the final paperwork to ensure the price and terms match what was negotiated.
• Get all promises from the dealer in writing, typically on the “We-Owe” statement.