Rockville Town Council set to address two old issues

The saying is "in with the new, out with the old," however, that won't necessarily be the case Jan. 5 when the Rockville Town Board meets for the first time in the new year. 

The board will kick off 2026 with a meeting at 5 p.m. at town hall, 119 West High St. and on the agenda are two items that were contentious in 2025 -- stormwater rate increase and the future of the town manager position. 

The stormwater fees issue can be traced back to the middle of last year when councilman Dave Brown called out what he said were major issues when it came to who was paying stormwater fees, the amounts some were paying and that a lot needed to be looked at before the town adopted new stormwater fees. In October, the town board voted 4-1 in favor of new fees, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. 

Under the ordinance, those with a water meet and those without a water meter that own at least 500 square feet or more of hard water surface area even if no water, electric or sewage services are connected to the property, will see an increase. Any property outside the town limits with water service will pay a storm fee only if a portion of the property they own drains into the municipal boundary or passes through drainage infrastructure the town maintains. 

For those with a square foot area of 0 to 15,000, the rate will be $10.68. Those with 15,001 to 30,000 will pay $21.36, while those with 30,001 to 45,000 will see an increase to $32.04 and anything over 45,000 will be charged $42.72. 

"We do have some areas in the town that need stormwater taken care of. We have some old pipes that need to be taken care of. To that end, we need money for that. I was not, fundamentally, against raising the stormwater fees, but I was adamantly against how they went about it. Not to throw anyone under the bus, but I did not feel like everything that could be used was being used. I am sure there will be arguments about that, but anyone who has been to our meetings, knows it is a touchy subject. There have been fees that haven't been charged, fees that weren't being charged fully and I, personally, did not feel like they were being taken care of the right way," Brown said. 

The town board asked Rockville Clerk-Treasurer Brandy Asher to begin streamlining how much people owed and collect the fees, something that prior administrations and those in the Clerk-Treasurer office failed to do in the past. 

"I don't think those fees would have changed the world, but they would have helped. We have left a lot of money on the table over the last 16 years where this was not enforced. We need to do a better job of doing our due diligence to make sure we are doing things correctly. We have to make sure the town board, sewer board or whatever board does the best it can, does its due diligence and make sure we do the best we can to serve the people who voted us in. We owe them that," Brown said. 

The veteran councilman also admitted there are instances of current and or past council members who have not paid stormwater fees.

"Yes. I'll leave it at that. If you are one of the five members that is going to vote to raise rates, you should be paying your fair share right along with everyone else," Brown admitted. 

In addition to the stormwater issue, the town board will look to take up the idea of a town manager Monday night. 

This comes on the heels of the board voting 3-2 in favor of removing certain duties from Asher last month. 

Council members Liddy Dowd-Wright, Parke Swaim and Steve Waltz all voted in favor of removing duties from Asher, while Brown and Chris McCann voted against the measure. The Parke County Post has learned there have been informal discussions about potentially hiring someone to serve as town manager on a part-time basis. 

Regardless of what happens, Brown has a message for the residents of Rockville. 

"I invite you to a board meeting, and hold us accountable. Come and tell it to us face to face. We will welcome you in with open arms," Brown said.