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State senator briefs commissioners on utility rates, zoning and mental‑health funding
Summary
A visiting state senator told Starke County commissioners about bills he blocked that would have weakened local zoning control, discussed proposed changes to utility rate methodology and transparency in response to high consumer bills, and urged officials to pursue state grant programs for local projects.
A state senator visiting the meeting gave a wide-ranging update on recent and proposed state legislation and urged local officials to keep advocating for county needs.
On land use and zoning he said he helped block provisions in a bill that would have allowed broader uses—"including solar"—to be placed on some farmland without local control. "We were able to stop that entire bill," he said, emphasizing local control of zoning. He also said language that would have allowed a separate second dwelling on a residential lot was removed from a larger housing bill.
The senator addressed local concerns about high utility bills and meter changes. He said the state's utility regulator (IURC) reviews rate cases and that he and colleagues are pushing for more transparency and a change in rate methodology toward performance‑based ratemaking, which would consider reliability and innovation in rate decisions. He also described letters and inquiries his office filed after utility meter changes that appeared to cause overbilling in some instances.
He flagged mental‑health funding and Medicaid reimbursement rates as priorities, saying some community mental‑health providers struggle on low reimbursements and that he plans legislation to cap county contributions and to seek more state matching. He encouraged commissioners to apply for OKRA and related grant programs and offered to help advocate with state leaders for critical local projects.
The senator also discussed blight-elimination funding, bridge and road funding pressures, and the difficulty of funding large bridge projects locally. He urged local officials to flag projects so state partners can assist.
