Vandalia · November 2027
Amos
Patton
for City Council
The minimum water and sewer bill went up about $12 a month. Keeping Vandalia affordable is why I’m running.
Three seats are open. I’m asking for one.
Leave your email and I’ll let you know when I’m knocking your street.
Why I’m running
I want this to stay a city people can afford to stay in.
The minimum monthly water bill in Vandalia is now $25.01. Sewer is $17.35. Stormwater adds another $3.60. For a household on a fixed income, the last round of increases was real money.
There is more coming. Tri-Cities Wastewater is facing over $145 million in upgrades to meet EPA rules that take effect in 2027. The city is already applying for more than $15 million in grants against that. I want us going after every dollar that exists.
That is most of what this job is. Find the outside money, keep the rate steady, and tell people early enough that they can weigh in.
Where I stand
Four things I’d work on.
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Hold the line on taxes
Our income tax is 2%, and the charter already requires a vote of the people to raise it. What I’d defend is the full credit you get for tax paid where you work. Cities under pressure trim that credit, and it is a tax increase in everything but name.
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Utility bills you can plan around
Every grant dollar the city lands is a dollar that does not arrive on your bill. With a $145 million wastewater mandate ahead of us, that work matters more over the next four years than it ever has.
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Schools that are safe and steady
The district has its own elected board. But the city runs the police department, the crossings and traffic around school buildings, and the development agreements that route revenue to the schools. I’d use all of that.
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Decisions you hear about in time
Agenda packets posted earlier. One paragraph of plain English attached to every appropriation. Small changes, and they would mean residents hear about a decision while there is still time to say something.
Help out
About four thousand people will decide this.
Vandalia has roughly 15,000 residents and a municipal election pulls a fraction of them out. A dozen people walking on Saturdays is genuinely the difference.
- Sign the petition. It takes a minute at your door.
- Knock doors with me on a Saturday.
- Put up a yard sign.
- Introduce me to your street.
Neighbors
What people are saying
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