Council members sparred over withheld information about proposed trash fee

(Editor’s note: This article is part of a series, detailing the Kokomo Common Council’s first reading on Oct. 28 of a proposed $10 trash collection fee ordinance. Keep watching the Kokomo Lantern throughout the day for additional articles on this subject.)

The fight over a proposed $10 fee by the City of Kokomo to continue providing trash collection took center stage at the Kokomo Common Council meeting on Oct. 28, but the conflict wasn’t limited to the floor of the council chamber.

The council members were bristling in their caucus before the meeting began, with Councilman Jeff Plough (R – 4th District) at the forefront. He took umbrage with the lack of information provided to some council members and the short, indirect notice that the trash fee was being proposed.

"The question that we all wind up being asked by our citizens is, 'Why?'" said Plough. "And there's not been a good explanation of why. We're up front, answering those questions. We're the ones that are going to be the bad guys."

Councilman Tom Miklik (R – At Large), the sponsor of the ordinance, countered by claiming it is the responsibility of each council member to ask questions of the administration about the ordinance.

"Who have you called at the city to ask the question?" asked Miklik.

This incited councilman Tony Stewart (R – At Large), who came to Plough's defense.

"How would he know to ask the question?" asked Stewart. "All Jeff is asking for is a fair amount of information."

Councilman Greg Davis (R – 5th District) spoke up, giving his opinion on the matter.

"We get everything on the Thursday before the council meeting," said Davis. "If you look at that and there's something that you don't understand, then we have Thursday, Friday, and Monday to call and ask, 'How did this come up? When did this come up?' When we get our package on Thursdays, the best thing to do would be to make this contact."

Unfortunately for the council members, the city administration had advertised a public hearing on the trash fee a full week before presenting the council with an informational packet. The calls and complaints from the community came long before the information.

This further riled Stewart, who called out his fellow council members for withholding information.

"I guarantee you this; Thursday was not the first time a group of people read that information," said Stewart, staring directly at Miklik. "You gave a certain group that information and then waited and gave another group that information.

"Give everybody time to take in what's going on so when we're speaking to our constituents, we can make an honest decision. That's all we're saying. I don't think that's too much to ask. I know for sure people at this table had that information, and that is what burns me up."