HAMMOND â The city of Hammond has reached a settlement deal with five Northwest Indiana communities that sued late last year to object to Hammond's newly approved water rate hikes.Â
Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. confirmed the existence of a pending settlement between Hammond and towns of Highland, Munster, Griffith, Dyer and city of Whiting during a City Council meeting this week.Â
The Hammond City Council voted 9-0 in November to raise Hammond residentsâ water bills from 44 cents to $1.90 per 1,000 gallons starting Jan. 1.Â
The rate hike â which also applied to wholesale customers â was swiftly criticized by the officials in Highland, Munster, Griffith, Dyer and Whiting. They argued that the sudden, automatic triggering of rate hikes for those cities and towns were "discriminatory, unreasonable, and unjust under Indiana law," and followed up with a lawsuit.Â