Table of Contents
Mark Caldwell Makes More than the Mayor
In Alexandria, Indiana, the highest-paid official is not the mayor. Mark Caldwell is #11 on that list, the Water Superintendent.
Caldwell makes over $68,440 a year more than Mayor Todd Naselroad himself. His job is simple and clear: keep Alexandria’s water safe. Yet under his watch:
- A baby was hospitalized for 8 days with confirmed E. coli poisoning.
- Over 200 residents across Madison County reported sickness, brown water, and dead pets.
- Chlorine levels tested as low as 0.029 ppm a fraction of EPA standards.
- Chlorine log requests were denied Caldwell even claimed in a recorded meeting he “never got the emails,” despite timestamped proof they were sent.
For $68,000 a year, Caldwell didn’t deliver safe water. He delivered lies, denial, and cover-up.
Despite being the highest paid official in Alexandria, earning over $68,000 a year more than the mayor himself Mark Caldwell has presided over one of the most shameful failures of basic governance in the city’s history. His sole duty as Water Superintendent is to ensure clean, safe drinking water for the community. Yet under his watch, chlorine levels plummeted to near zero, residents reported brown water pouring from their taps, and more than 200 citizens across Madison County with the majority coming from Alexandria have publicly spoken out about illness, rashes, gastrointestinal problems, and even pets dying.
Most damning of all, when pressed about public records requests for chlorine logs, Caldwell was caught on camera denying he ever received them despite timestamped emails proving otherwise. This isn’t just incompetence. This is a man, paid handsomely with taxpayer dollars, lying to protect himself and the political structure around him while families suffered. For $68,000 a year, residents didn’t get a guardian of public health they got a gatekeeper of silence and denial.
💰 Follow the Money
- Mark Caldwell’s salary: $68,000+
- Mayor Todd Naselroad’s salary: ~$61,000
- Average Alexandria resident’s income: ~$37,000
While families struggle and children suffer, Caldwell takes home more than the mayor and gives the people poisoned taps.
The scandal is compounded by the fact that Caldwell’s salary comes largely from utility funds money residents believed was being reinvested into infrastructure, safety, and maintenance of the water system. Instead, while the Washington Street project ballooned to nearly ten million dollars with little visible progress, Caldwell was compensated at a level out of step with nearly every other local employee.
Ordinary families in Alexandria scrape by on half that amount, only to turn on their faucets and find water unfit to drink. Caldwell’s pay, far above the mayor’s, now looks less like a reflection of his expertise and more like a payoff to keep him quiet a way to ensure he remained loyal to the administration and kept covering up test results, public complaints, and failures in oversight. His name is no longer just tied to the water department it is tied to the cover-up itself. And if accountability is ever to mean anything in Alexandria, it must begin with the immediate resignation or removal of Mark Caldwell.
⚖️ Caught Lying on Record
At a public meeting, Caldwell flatly denied receiving chlorine log requests. Emails prove otherwise. The lie is recorded, undeniable, and directly tied to his responsibility.
This is not negligence. This is active obstruction.
🛑 Accountability Now
Caldwell is not a scapegoat he is the primary gatekeeper.
- He controls the logs.
- He controls the reports.
- He is paid more than anyone in Alexandria to do this job.
And he failed.
📢 Call to Action
On August 27th at 5:30 PM, citizens will confront their officials at the Alexandria council meeting.
If you believe $72,000 should buy clean water not poisoned families, then demand the resignation of Mark Caldwell, Alexandria Water Superintendent.