Brazil residents can soon expect a nearly 50% water rate increase
BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Brazil residents can soon expect an increase in their water bill as City Council recently approved a 48% water rate increase at the last public hearing at Brazil City Hall.
Mayor Brian Wyndham says this has been a conversation even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, the imposed water rate increase had a main topic at multiple public hearings.
This decision was not taken lightly and wasn't made overnight. An increase hasn't happened in the City of Brazil since 2016.
'With progress comes costs,' said Brazil Mayor Brian Wyndham. 'The one thing about this that is different from a lot of things, the increase cost of your water bill, that money is going right back here in this community.'
The city has done multiple area studies to come up with a percent that is the most reasonable, and what will ultimately help fund the community. The most recent area study being done by Baker Tilly, an outside company study.
'When you're looking at your water bill, you obviously see a total. And with that includes your water, wastewater, the trash service, storm water utility, all of those other entities. I mean they're listed separately but then there's a total,' said Wyndham. 'So, bear in mind, this just effects your water. The study was done on it based on 4,000-gallon usage per month, which seem to be kind of the median where we're at. It's going to increase your bill about $15 to $16 if you fall in that four-thousand-gallon usage.'
The water rate increase will not only affect Brazil residents, but more than 1,000Clay County residents that use the city water. The mayor stated out-of-city limit residents were notified by a letter about the water rate increase.
Looking ahead, the money from the increase will help fund a $13 million dollar project that will replace a raw water line that runs Reelsville into the Brazil Treatment Plant.
The Mayor of Brazil also emphasized the rate increase is based on water usage only and will not impact other utilities. The newest water rate increase will go into effect in July 2025.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
40 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a ‘shock-prone' world
OTTAWA - Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada: he's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals; Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty 'Go Oilers!' It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Macklem, too, was almost safe to declare victory last year. He had just about secured a coveted 'soft landing' for Canada's economy — a rare feat that sees restrictive monetary policy bring down surging levels of inflation without tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn. 'We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession,' Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. 'And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up.' Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy. But he defends keeping the bank's inflation target, particularly at a time of global upheaval. 'Our flexible inflation targeting framework has just been through the biggest test it's ever had in the 30 years since we announced the inflation target,' he said. 'I'm not going to pretend it's been an easy few years for anybody. But I think the framework has performed well.' Macklem said, however, that he sees room to build out the mandate to address other areas of concern from Canadians, such as housing affordability. Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. 'Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit,' he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. 'There is a role for monetary policy to smooth out some of that adjustment — support the economy while ensuring that inflation is well-controlled.' He didn't offer suggestions on how the mandate might expand to address housing affordability specifically, but said 'the work is ongoing' and will be settled in meetings with the federal government next year. Right now, he's trying to make sure that the economic impacts from Canada's tariff dispute with the United States don't result in prolonged inflation. The Bank of Canada is not alone in debating how monetary policy ought to respond in what Macklem called a more 'shock-prone' world. The G7 Finance Ministers' Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last month also featured roundtables with the bloc's central bankers. Conversations at the summit were 'candid,' Macklem said, and though the nations issued a joint statement at the close of the event, that doesn't mean they agreed on everything. 'International co-operation, to be honest, has never been easy. It is particularly difficult right now, but that doesn't make it less important. That makes it more important,' he said. 'I do think Canada, as the chair of the G7, has a leadership role to play.' The Bank of Canada is also changing the way it has conversations with Canadians and the kind of data it considers. A day after the June interest rate decision, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki told a Toronto business crowd how the central bank is using data more nimbly, relying heavily on surveys and more granular information to make monetary policy decisions in an uncertain time. These sources offer a faster way to see what's happening on the ground in the economy than traditional statistical models allow. Macklem said the central bank would previously have dismissed most supply shocks as transitory — likely to pass without the need for central bank adjustments, such as rising and falling oil prices. But he said the Bank of Canada needs to be running a more 'nuanced playbook' now to respond to some increasingly common shocks: supply chain disruptions, trade conflicts and extreme weather to name a few. An overheating economy running up against a supply disruption is the kind of inflationary fire Macklem is trying to avoid in this latest crisis. 'The economy does not work well when inflation is high,' he said. 'And the primary role of the Bank of Canada is to ensure that Canadians maintain confidence in price stability. That's all we can do for the Canadian economy. That's what we can do for Canadians. And that's what we're focused on.' Later in the day on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadian team was down but roared back to win 4-3 in overtime. It's still early in the Bank of Canada's response to the latest global shock. But with any luck, Macklem's team might also get a leg up with lessons learned the last time they faced big odds. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a 'shock-prone' world
OTTAWA — Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada: he's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals; Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty "Go Oilers!" It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Macklem, too, was almost safe to declare victory last year. He had just about secured a coveted "soft landing" for Canada's economy — a rare feat that sees restrictive monetary policy bring down surging levels of inflation without tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn. "We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession," Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. "And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up." Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy. But he defends keeping the bank's inflation target, particularly at a time of global upheaval. "Our flexible inflation targeting framework has just been through the biggest test it's ever had in the 30 years since we announced the inflation target," he said. "I'm not going to pretend it's been an easy few years for anybody. But I think the framework has performed well." Macklem said, however, that he sees room to build out the mandate to address other areas of concern from Canadians, such as housing affordability. Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. "Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit," he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. "There is a role for monetary policy to smooth out some of that adjustment — support the economy while ensuring that inflation is well-controlled." He didn't offer suggestions on how the mandate might expand to address housing affordability specifically, but said "the work is ongoing" and will be settled in meetings with the federal government next year. Right now, he's trying to make sure that the economic impacts from Canada's tariff dispute with the United States don't result in prolonged inflation. The Bank of Canada is not alone in debating how monetary policy ought to respond in what Macklem called a more "shock-prone" world. The G7 Finance Ministers' Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last month also featured roundtables with the bloc's central bankers. Conversations at the summit were "candid," Macklem said, and though the nations issued a joint statement at the close of the event, that doesn't mean they agreed on everything. "International co-operation, to be honest, has never been easy. It is particularly difficult right now, but that doesn't make it less important. That makes it more important," he said. "I do think Canada, as the chair of the G7, has a leadership role to play." The Bank of Canada is also changing the way it has conversations with Canadians and the kind of data it considers. A day after the June interest rate decision, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki told a Toronto business crowd how the central bank is using data more nimbly, relying heavily on surveys and more granular information to make monetary policy decisions in an uncertain time. These sources offer a faster way to see what's happening on the ground in the economy than traditional statistical models allow. Macklem said the central bank would previously have dismissed most supply shocks as transitory — likely to pass without the need for central bank adjustments, such as rising and falling oil prices. But he said the Bank of Canada needs to be running a more "nuanced playbook" now to respond to some increasingly common shocks: supply chain disruptions, trade conflicts and extreme weather to name a few. An overheating economy running up against a supply disruption is the kind of inflationary fire Macklem is trying to avoid in this latest crisis. 'The economy does not work well when inflation is high," he said. "And the primary role of the Bank of Canada is to ensure that Canadians maintain confidence in price stability. That's all we can do for the Canadian economy. That's what we can do for Canadians. And that's what we're focused on." Later in the day on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadian team was down but roared back to win 4-3 in overtime. It's still early in the Bank of Canada's response to the latest global shock. But with any luck, Macklem's team might also get a leg up with lessons learned the last time they faced big odds. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Beloved beer brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The Great Beerpocalypse, the economic downturn affecting the craft beer industry since the Covid-19 pandemic, continues to claim victims as brewers shut down taprooms and breweries and sometimes file for bankruptcy. American craft brewers produced 23.1 million barrels of beer in 2024, which was a 3.9% decrease from 2023, according to the Brewers Association's Annual Craft Brewing Industry Production Report that was updated on May 6. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The report revealed that 2024 was the first year since 2005 that the number of breweries closing outpaced brewery openings nationwide, as 430 new breweries opened, while 529 closed. Related: Another popular furniture retailer files Chapter 11 bankruptcy The good news for the industry was that the total number of breweries increased to 9,922 in 2024 from 9,838 in 2023. While openings declined four consecutive years, the closure rate was considered low at about 5%. Craft breweries that closed businesses without filing for bankruptcy included Sacramento-based brewery and taproom chain Device Brewing Company, which shut down all of its locations on April 27 after a landlord filed a lawsuit against the company over $23,000 in unpaid rent. The brewery did not reveal a reason for shutting down its three brewery taproom locations. Atlanta-area craft brewery Jekyll Brewing, which operated four locations in Georgia and one in Florida, closed all of its locations at the end of business on May 11. The brewer's owner Michael Lundmark confirmed the closure of all Jekyll Brewing locations in a post on Atlanta Beer Society's members-only Facebook page, TheStreet's Daniel Kline reported. Craft breweries filed for bankruptcies as well, as La Vista, Neb., beer brand Nebraska Brewing Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 28, 2025, to implement a strategic restructuring, facing uncertain times and economic and supply chain issues. Award-winning craft brewery The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on April 29 to liquidate its assets and shut down its business permanently. The brewery's owner, Paul Philippon, did not state a specific reason for closing down his business in a Facebook post where he thanked his customers. Finally, MurphDog LLC, which owns Ironmonger Brewing Company's brewery, taproom, and axe-throwing range, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business, facing financial distress. Related: Another major trucking company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Marietta, Ga.-based brewer filed its Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 5, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities, including over $988,000 owed to insider Doug Bippert and over $885,000 owed to Tom Larsen for loans and unpaid compensation. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The debtor operated a craft brewery, a taproom, a distillery business, and a recreational axe-throwing range. It is unclear if Ironmonger continues to operate. Ironmonger's phone line was not operating, and its website was disabled on June 6. Tripadvisor listed Ironmonger as permanently closed, while Yelp listed the business as closed also on June 6. The company, founded in 2016, brewed several types of beer with unique names, including Zero Mile Pilsner, You Have Feelings IPA, Murph Dog Irish Red for St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, Billet, Et Tu Juiceous, Too Legit to Wit, and Me Seek Porter. Ironmonger Brewering's cans of beer were available at Total Wine & More, Grapes & Grains locations, and other stores in Georgia. Related: Major health care provider files for Chapter 7 liquidation The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
