Mr. Jeremy Mayes
Hidden Valley Lake Property Owners Association
19303 Schmarr Drive
Lawrenceburg,
Dear Mr. Mayes,
Thank you for attending the Valley Rural Utility Company (VRUC) Board of Directors meeting on January 13, 2026.
The Board of Directors would like to respond to the statement you read and requested to become (in full) a part of the meeting minutes. We recognize that the statement was made on the behalf of the HVL POA Board of Directors and the residents and property owners of the association.
•In the future we request the POA contact VRUC and refrain from adding to the criticism and unfounded insults that seems to be more and more common particularly on FB. These actions serve no purpose other than to inflame anger with no support of problem solving.
In reference to your first point “Hidden Valley Lake continues to experience an unacceptable frequency of outages, inconsistent pressure, sediment intrusion, and prolonged restoration times. These are not isolated events; they represent a pattern that has eroded confidence in the system.”
• As you should know, VRUC is currently in the midst of a significant water improvement project, designed to address some of the very issues you raised.
• Improvements cannot be done without interrupting water service, as that’s the nature of the work (i.e. you can’t remodel your kitchen without taking it temporarily out of service!). We have always been committed to restore service as quickly as possible.
• Water advisory alerts and subsequent water quality testing (as required by IDEM), assures safe drinking water.
• While not all of the issues you noted are directly related to this project most are. The issues not related to our project are related to unplanned events i.e. leaks and breaks.
Your second point “…communication failures. Planned outages are often communicated late or vaguely, while unplanned outages are frequently learned about only after residents lose service. This lack of timely, specific information leaves residents unprepared and frustrated.”
• VRUC has continually and will continue to look for cost-effective ways to improve our communications regarding any outage, planned or not. The POA’s publicizing the VRUC’s email and text ALERT system has been helpful.
• Unfortunately, unplanned outages are exactly that – UNPLANNED. VRUC can only communicate information regarding unplanned outages once we are aware of the issue. Often, VRUC receives information about low or no pressure and has to respond and identify the issue PRIOR to communicating the actual issue.
• The frequency of planned outages is significantly more than usual due to the ongoing construction project – planned to be completed by late spring. Every effort is made to minimize the impacted areas during every event.
• Unplanned outages had a surge in frequency immediately after the water demands for the Christmas Day fire. Since then, the rate has quelled and unplanned outages are no more frequent than prior to the construction project.
• Often, during planned outages unexpected field conditions necessitate changing course which often changes the message we communicated earlier. Generally, once weekly (normally Friday or Monday)
• VRUC posts a list of future work (a 2-week outlook). This allows residents ample time to make personal schedule adjustments. Daily, and often multiple times a day VRUC posts communications regarding that particular day’s activities, but even that can uncontrollably change due to the nature of construction.
Your third point was “…above-average water rates. Our members consistently pay higher rates than comparable communities, yet do not receive service levels that reflect those costs.”
• VRUC conducts routine rates studies and annual audits to ensure the established rates are proper. Comparison of a community which is a water producer to a community which is a water re-seller is not a fair comparison. Water producing communities’ rates are “all inclusive” and usually, as is the case with VRUC the lowest all-inclusive rate of the water producing community is the purchase rate of water for water resellers. This rate for a water producing community customer includes all the services of that utility. VRUC is a re-seller of water to deliver water to our HVL customers. The rate VRUC pays for water does not include all the same services. These services are provided by VRUC. Some of these services include: individual customer billing, customer service, system operations, maintenance, improvements and repairs. The costs of these services are added to the cost of the water purchased. VRUC’s rates are comparable to other communities which re-sell water.
Your fourth point was “Public safety and fire protection. Repeated outages, low tank levels, and hydrant functionality issues raise serious concerns about our community’s ability to respond to a structure fire or large-scale emergency.”
• There are over 30 public and 1 private fire hydrant currently on the VRUC distribution system. This has been the case for many years.
• All fire hydrants are checked/maintained annually by VRUC staff. During this activity the following occurs: 1. Static pressure check (recorded), 2. Greasing of hydrant if designed to be greased (recorded), 3. Date of check, 4. Comments as to overall operation (any damage is noted, ease/difficulty of operation, operational or needs repaired). This information is shared with Bright Fire Department.
• Currently there are 2 hydrants out of service. One of these was a result of the recent fire. Tank levels during normal operation are maintained by a System Controls And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. This is a feature in virtually every water system.
• During construction VRUC is using a temporary tankage system to enable work on our main storage tank. This system, while lower capacity than our main tank, was reviewed and approved for use by the State Engineer as a part of our project review.
Your Fifth point was “… long-term financial viability. With reported long-term debt exceeding $20 million, there is growing concern about how to achieve infrastructure replacement and system stability without placing an unsustainable burden on Hidden Valley Lake residents.”
• VRUC recently went through a very comprehensive financial review process prior to undertaking the new debt associated with the current improvement project. This review was conducted by the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) and the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF). As a result of their findings and an independent rate study/analysis the recent rate increases were put in place to ensure that the revenues would be generated to service not only existing but also the newly encumbered debt.
• As part of our rate review and project process an Asset Management Plan (AMP) was developed for the water portion of VRUC.
• Additionally, the loan was provided at the absolute lowest possible subsidized rate.
Your final point was “...resource strain on the POA. Because residents are often unable to reach VRUC, they turn to the POA for answers, complaints and emergency concerns. This diverts staff time, human capital, and financial resources away from our core responsibilities and places the POA in an untenable intermediary role.”
• VRUC has 2 full time employees to take calls during normal business hours and the General Manager assistswith talking calls during times of high volume. All non-working hours a VRUC employee is on-call and carries a company cell phone which is reached through our emergency line.
• Often times, during an after-hours emergency the volume of calls far exceeds the employee’s ability to answer every call.
• Additionally, answering and responding to every message would reduce resources to respond to the actual emergency.
While it would be nice, it is not possible for VRUC or any other organization for that matter to control individual behavior. In the past VRUC has received calls while conducting emergency repairs from Dearborn County Dispatch (the 911 center) and neighboring utilities. Most of these agencies have direct lines to some of VRUC’s staff and management.
As for the POA demands:
Rejoining the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to restore independent oversight, transparency and regulatory accountability.
• Regarding the POA's demand to rejoin the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC):
We understand and appreciate the concerns underlying this request. The desire for independent oversight, transparency, and accountability in rate-setting is one we share completely. However, after careful consideration, we believe that rejoining the IURC would not serve these goals and would, in fact, harm ratepayers' interests. Here's why:
• The Legal Standard Remains the Same
Whether under IURC jurisdiction or not, VRUC is legally required to maintain "just and reasonable" rates by statute. This is not optional, and this standard has been subject to rigorous court review. Our courts have consistently held that rate changes must be supported by detailed rate studies performed by independent financial analysts. Ratepayers must have notice and a meaningful opportunity to review the financial analysis and be heard before rates are set. IURC oversight does not change this fundamental legal obligation—it only changes the venue and process for enforcement.
• VRUC Already Follows Best Practices for Transparency and Accountability
VRUC recently completed a comprehensive financial analysis, including an independent rate study, to establish the new rate. Ratepayers were provided full opportunity to inspect the analysis, participate in public meetings, and be heard on the proposed rate. Critically, these decisions were made by a Board of Directors who are themselves ratepayers and who are directly elected by their fellow ratepayers. This Board followed the law and ultimately set the new rate at the lowest level justified by the independent study.
This process provides something the IURC cannot: direct accountability to you, the ratepayers. When you disagree with a decision, you can attend the next board meeting and address the very people who made it—your neighbors and fellow ratepayers whom you elected. You can vote them out if you believe they have acted contrary to your interests.
• IURC Proceedings Are Costly, Lengthy, and Disconnected from Ratepayers
By contrast, IURC rate cases present significant disadvantages:
▪ Location and accessibility: Cases are conducted entirely in Indianapolis during regular business hours, making it difficult or impossible for most ratepayers to participate meaningfully.
▪ Timeline: The process takes a minimum of six months and often considerably longer, creating uncertainty and delay.
▪ Cost: IURC cases require specialized Indianapolis counsel at rates typically double those of local attorneys, tens of thousands of dollars in costs that are passed directly to ratepayers through higher rates.
▪ Insulation from ratepayers: Decisions are made by IURC officials in Indianapolis who have no direct connection to our community and whom ratepayers have no ability to influence or hold accountable through elections.
• The Trend Away from IURC Jurisdiction Tells the Story
A simple review of the IURC website reveals that approximately 89% of water utilities that were formerly subject to IURC jurisdiction (374 of 422) for rate-making purposes have exercised their statutory right to exit that jurisdiction. The overwhelming preference for local control reflects the substantial costs, delays, and disconnect from ratepayers inherent in the IURC process.
• The Board’s Conclusion and Caution
For these reasons, the Board has determined that re-entering IURC jurisdiction would not serve ratepayers' interests. We believe it is important for ratepayers to understand that IURC jurisdiction historically results in higher rates, not lower ones, due to the substantial regulatory costs involved and the tendency of formal rate proceedings to incorporate every possible cost into rate structures.
We remain firmly committed to transparent, accountable rate-setting and welcome ratepayer participation in our public board meetings. Unlike IURC proceedings, our process ensures you can directly question and hold accountable the board members you elected—board members who pay the same rates you do and live in the same community you do.
Fully comply with all rules and regulations of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) without exception.
VRUC is fully compliant with IDEM and routinely inspected. VRUC has no outstanding Notices of Violation (NOVs) with IDEM. Your demand implies that we are not.
Release a comprehensive Asset Management Plan to the community that clearly outlines how aging infrastructure will be repaired and replaced responsibly, without imposing unreasonable costs increases on the POA members.
• As previously stated VRUC has an AMP (asset management plan) for the water portion of the utility as part of our engineering analysis leading to the current improvement project.
• We are planning on having an AMP completed for the sewer side during late 2026 or during 2027.
• An AMP does NOT provide a timeline. An AMP details all of the system assets and their current state (i.e. New and in service, New on shelf, Used but in like new condition and in service, Used in service X years old etc.).
VRUC is delinquent in posting our most recent financial data.
• It is VRUC policy not to publish financial data until the financial report is reviewed and approved by the Board. This occurs quarterly. VRUC will post the most recently available approved financial report and will post routinely moving forward.
Move VRUC meetings from 8:00a.m. to evening hours so that working residents can attend meetings.
• Multiple times over the years VRUC has moved meetings to evening hours with little to no increase in attendance.
• VRUC’s Board is willing to and has held special meetings by request with customers who cannot attend the regularly scheduled meetings.
• The Board will review and consider meeting times.
Hold monthly meetings rather than quarterly during the corrective period, given the scale and urgency involved.
• VRUC sees no need for this, rather focus on completing the project first and foremost and improved communication to our customers.
• Staff and Board meet in working session with the engineer and contractor monthly (this will continue during the duration of the improvement project).
Communicate all planned outages at least 24 hours in advance, with clear start times, durations and scope.
• VRUC communicates the best available relevant information in as timely a fashion as possible. The simple nature of a construction project is that things quite often change due to numerous unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances.
Communicate unplanned outages immediately, including an estimated remediation timeline and ongoing updates
• VRUC currently communicates unplanned outages as soon as practical. An estimated remediation timeline is very problematic because of the nature of underground utilities.
Ensure that VRUC - not the POA – handles customer complaints and operational issues, with staff available and responsive.
• VRUC cannot control who our customers call. They should be aware that any water or sewer issues require contacting VRUC’s office.
Create a formal grievance and remediation process that provides customers with a clear avenue to report problems and receive a resolution.
• Grievances will continue to be handled one at a time and simply requires contacting the VRUC office to initiate problem resolution as quickly as possible.
• Additionally, VRUC does have a process which allows customers to email VRUC. These emails are reviewed and appropriately responded to.
Proactively communicate with emergency personnel whenever tank levels are low, hydrants are compromised, or system conditions could affect emergency response readiness.
•VRUC does proactively communicate with Bright Fire Department. Whenever a hydrant is out of service it is covered with a black bag – this is an industry wide standard practice recognized by fire agencies.
• Low tank levels always demand top priority of correction. No amount of communication adds value to correcting this situation. Rest assured, low tank levels are always taken seriously and corrected.
In closing, VRUC expects cooperation, professionalism, and mutual respect between our organizations. Demands that interfere with operational effectiveness or place unreasonable administrative burdens on staff during emergencies will not be accommodated.
Support for VRUC’s mission requires allowing trained personnel to do their jobs without obstruction. Excessive oversight, adversarial demands, or attempts to exert control during emergency situations are counterproductive and unacceptable.
VRUC remains committed to openness, accountability, and high-quality services to the HVL community. However, supportive governance means trusting qualified utility professionals to act decisively and without distraction when providing “normal” services, let alone during the major system upgrade we are doing currently.
Sincerely,
Bill Neyer
General Manager
Valley Rural Utility Association
