Water and sewer superintendent announces retirement as residents urge action on failing infrastructure

The Lebanon City council committee on April 20 heard a public retirement announcement from the city water and sewer superintendent and a string of residents and employees urging immediate action on longstanding infrastructure and staffing problems.

The superintendent (speaker S4), who identified their role in the meeting, said they would retire and listed department achievements accrued during a 38-year tenure, including multiple water-line replacements and a new wastewater treatment facility. “My last day of work here will be June 1,” the superintendent said, adding the announcement was intended to help allow two employees to remain employed.

The comments that followed focused on practical failures and safety concerns. Kevin Haas, who identified himself as the operator in charge of the sewer plant, said the newer treatment facility requires more staff than are available and warned the plant has roughly $13 million of equipment that “needs to be tended to.” “Some of it has to be tended to 24/7,” Haas said, adding that reduced staffing will limit response to emergencies and routine maintenance.

Several residents described repeated basement sewage backups and disputed whether insurance or the city should pay for cleanup. One resident called for pursuing grants and state assistance but said those options may not be enough, and raised the possibility of asking voters for a property-tax increase to fund long-term repairs and maintenance. The resident said raising taxes would be “substantial” but might be necessary to address the system’s deterioration.

Council members and staff responded with procedural and legal limitations: one councilor said insurance typically covers only incidents caused by a city’s proven fault, and another noted the city must balance its budget and cannot deficit spend. A councilor also clarified that some scheduling conventions discussed earlier—an “extra four hours” for police—were not overtime pay, citing the police chief’s explanation.

Speakers also disputed statements about fund balances. A resident told the committee they had heard of a roughly $3,000,000 surplus in the water and sewer fund and questioned why those dollars were not being used for maintenance; council members replied that fund balances are subject to budget rules and may already be allocated for payroll, grants or other operations.

The public comments included repeated requests that the council consult water and sewer staff before major organizational changes, noting that consolidations of water, sewer, streets and alleys have left fewer on-call employees to respond to rain events and equipment failures. The superintendent and operator urged clearer plans for staffing and maintenance and raised concerns about project delays, including the Hunter Lift Station, which speakers said had missed a December 2024 completion target.

The committee did not take a final vote on funding or staffing changes at the meeting. Council members said staff would pursue available grants, review budget flows and present additional information to the council; the public was told EPA-related inventory deadlines for water service records remain in effect through April 2027.

Next steps: the committee will consider staff reports and possible referrals to the full council; residents asked for clearer timelines for repairs and answers about how departmental fund balances are being used.