Richmond Mayor Ron Oler’s proposal for fines of up to $7,500 for transporting homeless people into the city prompted questions about its necessity and legality when it reached Richmond Common Council Sept. 8.
Oler said he doesn’t want other communities taking advantage of Richmond resources offered for unhoused people, either now or in the future.
To that end, he introduced an ordinance that would prohibit transporting people to the city if they lack a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” A first violation would result in a $2,500 fine, which would increase to $7,500 for a second offense.
Council member Anne Taylor questioned whether Oler had data about unsheltered people being transported to Richmond and questioned whether the ordinance would violate any constitutional rights.
“We do appreciate all the compassion and the hard work the city has done in working with the unsheltered,” Taylor said. “I just think we need a little bit more due diligence before we proceed with this.”
Oler did not offer any data or examples of the practice occurring locally, but said the ordinance sends a strong message that Richmond wants to protect the resources it has to assist its unsheltered.
‘We’re here to support the people we have the best way possible,” Oler said. “We don’t want other communities sending in people.”
After Oler took office in 2024, the city removed camps used by unsheltered people along the Whitewater Gorge and across the city, and said it had connected occupants with additional services.
Richmond hopes that during the 2027 state legislative session it will receive state funding to build a 30-unit shelter facility in the city.
“We’re hoping to find funding to build a facility to house the unsheltered, homeless in what’s called supportive housing,” Oler said.
The ordinance, which is similar to one Fort Wayne enacted in 2008, Oler said, would hopefully prevent a situation Fort Wayne recently encountered. Two people were provided bus tickets to Fort Wayne without appropriate lodging, effectively making them homeless when the bus arrived.
Oler said other Indiana mayors are also proceeding with similar ordinances, with the hope that when enough cities enact them, the state will create a statute prohibiting transportation of the unsheltered to other communities. Oler asked that council President Justin Burkhardt refer the ordinance to council’s public safety committee.
Burkhardt requested A.J. Sickmann, the city attorney, review the ordinance and provide feedback about its legality before it’s assigned to a council committee.
A version of this article appeared in the September 16 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
