County to collect assessments for 7 drainage watersheds

A routine county decision means some residents will pay higher drainage ditch assessments this spring, while others get a year off.

Wayne County’s Drainage Board, which is composed of the county commissioners, approved 25% assessment increases for six of those watersheds during a Feb. 25 meeting. Assessments are paid with spring property taxes.

Each drainage watershed has a budget line item with a balance used to maintain only that watershed’s drainage ditch. When a balance becomes too low, assessments are collected to bolster the account and enable maintenance projects.

Assessments vary by watershed, and within a watershed, they vary based on a property’s size and location relative to the legal drain ditch. Assessments are capped at a 25% annual increase, and the minimum assessment is $5. 

The Gephart watershed, which is north of Centerville between College Corner Road and Interstate 70, had its assessment raised 25%; however, its assessments have not been collected since 2013.

The other five watersheds with 25% increases are:

• A.F. Scott, which stretches from Wernle Road to U.S. 40 along South 37th Street in Richmond.
• Russell, which is north of I-70 between North Round Barn and North Centerville roads.
• O’Brien, which is north of I-70 between Salisbury and North Round Barn roads.
• Eldo Cain, which is northeast of Hagerstown beginning north of Pierce Road and bordered by Hadley, Indian Trail and North Jacksonburg roads.
• Wynfield, a Richmond subdivision that has two retention ponds.

Assessments will again be collected for the Quigg watershed, which is east of Garwood Road and north of Greenmount Pike in Richmond, but there will be no increase this year.

Residents in four other watersheds that had assessments collected last year will not pay this year. Those watersheds are:

• King, which is south of Tingler Road and east of King Road.
• Harrison, which is southeast of Fountain City, east of Flatley Road between East Pleasant Plain and East Whitewater roads
• Hinshaw, which is between Williamsburg and Fountain City and split by West Fountain City Pike.
• Knollenberg, which is west of Fountain City, stretching from West Fountain City Pike north of Davis Meyers Road.

Residents of 14 other watersheds will also not pay assessments this year.

A map of the county’s drainage watersheds can be found on the Beacon GIS website at wwn.to/drainage26.

Residents may also check if they have recently paid a watershed assessment by going to the Beacon site at beacon.schneidercorp.com and selecting “Indiana” and “Wayne County, IN.” Choose “property search” and search either by name or address for the correct property. On the property’s page, check the tax history section for a listed spring ditch assessment, which will include the watershed’s name.