Richmond requests state roads funding

Richmond will apply for more than a half-million dollars from the state’s Community Crossings program to pave 12 road segments next year.

Richmond Common Council approved 8-0 during its Oct. 20 meeting an ordinance permitting submission to the Indiana Department of Transportation of a grant application for $584,446.50. The city would need to match those funds if they are awarded.

If received, the money would pay to pave the following 12 streets:

• Richmond Avenue between Sheridan and North West Ninth streets.
• Peacock Road between North West 13th Street and Salisbury Road.
• Indiana Avenue between North West Fifth and North West 13th streets.
• North 15th Street between East Main and North E streets.
• South 14th Street between East Main and South A streets.
• South 18th Street between South B and South E streets.
• South 20th Street between Reeveston Road and South E Street.
• South 21st Street between South B and South E streets.
• Cedar Cliff Road between South A Street and Backmeyer Road.
• Stonecreek Road between Quail Hill Drive and Backmeyer Road.
• Quail Hill Drive between Stonecreek and Cedar Cliff roads.
• Hodgin Road between South 37th Street and Garwood Road.

The state will significantly change the Community Crossings matching grant program after legislation passed this year. The available money pool will shrink to $100 million. 

The state will add a lane-mile component to local road and street funding, but only communities implementing local option highway user taxes, sometimes known as wheel taxes, are eligible. The change prompted Wayne County Council to enact LOHUTs taking effect in 2026. The city also has the option of enacting its own LOHUTs. Beth Fields, the city’s director of strategic initiatives, said the city will closely monitor in 2026 whether the legislature makes LOHUTs an eligibility requirement for future Community Crossings funding.

Budget hearings

No residents spoke during a public hearing about the modified 2026 city budget. It is advertised on the state Department of Local Government Finance website, accessible at wwn.to/richmondbudget26, as $61,499,485 total, including $24,738,254 in the general fund.

Council is scheduled to adopt the budget and associated salary ordinances during a 7 p.m. Oct. 30 meeting. Council also chose to hold four appropriation ordinances involving more than $2.1 million that were on second reading for that meeting. No residents spoke about those ordinances during their public hearings.

Council did approve 8-0 the Richmond Sanitary District budget that’s advertised at $46,681,300. That vote was taken because the budget did not change from the Oct. 6 public hearing and was advertised for adoption Oct. 20. 

Pat Smoker, the sanitary director, said the budget includes a requested rate increase to help finance expansion of the Midwest Industrial Park’s sewer capacity, but it’s offset by budgeted bond debt service. Council has not acted on the rate increase request, and if the request is denied, the increase and bond service will be removed from the budget.

One ordinance on first reading was assigned to council’s finance committee. It would reduce the parks department’s 2025 budget appropriation by $50,000 and the local income tax fund’s appropriation by $100,000. Fields said that money would not be used this year.

Trick or Treat

Mayor Ron Oler reminded residents the city’s Halloween trick or treat will be 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.

Because that’s a weekday, Oler said trick or treat was delayed a half-hour to 6 p.m., to provide workers time to get home, reducing traffic while children trick or treat.