Government Showdown: City vs. County

A dispute between residents in the Valley View Hills subdivision over sewer rates has led to a showdown of sorts between the city of Elkhart and Elkhart County. Those living in the subdivision have paid three times the normal rate for sewer services to Elkhart for years as they are outside the city limits. Now they are up in arms over a new contract that would most likely raise the fee. But that isn’t the main sticking point, the contract also states that they would be powerless should the city wish to annex them in the future. Frustrated and with a shutdown of the services approaching they turned to the county for assistance. The county responded by announcing they would approve no related work permits for the city. This morning Elkhart County Sheriff Brad Rogers who made headlines when he threatened to arrest the FDA over unconstitutional searches, and Jeff Taylor county transportation manager drove to the subdivision. They parked their cars at the house where it is believed the first shutdowns would occur in a show of support for the residents. According to the Elkhart Truth, Rogers said;

Government is in place to protect the rights of people and the liberties of people… To do things like this is just not the right thing to do.

The people are in a predicament, they have been trapped into the government system and if they don’t pay up they are stuck and penalized. It is good to see officials willing to stand in the gap in defense of the citizens. It is unknown what response the city of Elkhart will have.