Fort Wayne City Council votes to launch investigation into Red River

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - The Fort Wayne City Council voted 5-1 in favor of a resolution Tuesday that establishes its wish to “pursue an investigation” into Red River, the garbage collection company that recently filed for bankruptcy. The resolution will allow the council to establish a three-member committee to direct the investigation. The committee will include the council president and the two council-appointed members of the Solid Waste Advisory Council.

The council has had trouble convincing Red River’s CEO to show up at meetings to answer questions, so the resolution spells out the council’s authority to compel testimony through a subpoena. It’s a power Councilman Russ Jehl says the council will exercise. “If they don’t want to show up and don’t want to talk with us and hide behind bankruptcy, it’s better for us to know that now,” Jehl told Fort Wayne’s NBC News after Tuesday night’s meeting. “That way the city attorneys can craft their legal strategy sooner rather than later.”

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry’s office released the following statement after the council’s vote: “The City Administration’s focus is on ensuring garbage and recycling materials continue to be collected and that is what is occurring each day in our community. We remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining quality waste collection service for the 83,300 households that are serviced each week. Moving forward, we’d like to see a collaborative approach to help meet the needs of our residents and neighborhoods rather than adversarial discussions and actions that don’t appear to be based on finding solutions to challenges.”

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