{"id":19831,"date":"2025-08-19T14:10:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T18:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/?p=19831"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:08:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:08:01","slug":"mark-caldwell-alexandria-indiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/mark-caldwell-alexandria-indiana\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Caldwell: Alexandria\u2019s #11 High Paid Official Delivered Poisoned Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#mark-caldwell-alexandrias-highest-paid-official-delivered-poisoned-water\">Mark Caldwell Makes More than the Mayor<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#\ud83d\udcb0-follow-the-money\">\ud83d\udcb0 Follow the Money<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\u2696\ufe0f-caught-lying-on-record\">\u2696\ufe0f Caught Lying on Record<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\ud83d\uded1-accountability-now\">\ud83d\uded1 Accountability Now<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#\ud83d\udce2-call-to-action\">\ud83d\udce2 Call to Action<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mark-caldwell-alexandrias-highest-paid-official-delivered-poisoned-water\">Mark Caldwell Makes More than the Mayor<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>In Alexandria, Indiana, the <strong>highest-paid official is not the mayor.<\/strong> Mark Caldwell is #11 on that list<strong>, the Water Superintendent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"27\" src=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-2-1024x27.png\" alt=\"Mark Caldwell\" class=\"wp-image-19833\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-2-1024x27.png 1024w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-2-300x8.png 300w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-2-768x20.png 768w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-2.png 1096w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Caldwell makes over <strong>$68,440 a year  more than Mayor Todd Naselroad himself.<\/strong> His job is simple and clear: keep Alexandria\u2019s water safe. Yet under his watch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"31\" src=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-1024x31.png\" alt=\"Mark Caldwell\n\" class=\"wp-image-19832\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-1024x31.png 1024w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-300x9.png 300w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-768x23.png 768w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1.png 1101w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>baby was hospitalized for 8 days<\/strong> with confirmed E. coli poisoning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Over 200 residents<\/strong> across Madison County reported sickness, brown water, and dead pets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Chlorine levels tested as low as <strong>0.029 ppm<\/strong> a fraction of EPA standards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chlorine log requests were denied<\/strong> Caldwell even claimed in a recorded meeting he \u201cnever got the emails,\u201d despite timestamped proof they were sent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For $68,000 a year, Caldwell didn\u2019t deliver safe water. He delivered <strong>lies, denial, and cover-up.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being the <strong>highest paid official in Alexandria, earning over $68,000 a year<\/strong> more than the mayor himself Mark Caldwell has presided over one of the most shameful failures of basic governance in the city\u2019s history. His sole duty as Water Superintendent is to ensure clean, safe drinking water for the community. Yet under his watch, <strong>chlorine levels plummeted to near zero<\/strong>, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019t just incompetence. This is a man, paid handsomely with taxpayer dollars, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/barrett-key-alexandria-indiana\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"19819\">lying to protect <\/a>himself and the political structure around him<\/strong> while families suffered. For $68,000 a year, residents didn\u2019t get a guardian of public health they got a gatekeeper of silence and denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"\ud83d\udcb0-follow-the-money\">\ud83d\udcb0 <strong>Follow the Money<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mark Caldwell\u2019s salary: <strong>$68,000+<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mayor Todd Naselroad\u2019s salary: <strong>~$61,000<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Average Alexandria resident\u2019s income: <strong>~$37,000<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"521\" height=\"318\" src=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-3.png\" alt=\"Mark Caldwell\" class=\"wp-image-19834\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-3.png 521w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-3-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 521px) 100vw, 521px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While families struggle and children suffer, Caldwell takes home more than the mayor and gives the people <strong>poisoned taps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scandal is compounded by the fact that Caldwell\u2019s 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 <strong>ten million dollars with little visible progress<\/strong>, Caldwell was compensated at a level out of step with nearly every other local employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ordinary families in Alexandria scrape by on half that amount, only to turn on their faucets and find water unfit to drink. Caldwell\u2019s pay, far above the mayor\u2019s, now looks less like a reflection of his expertise and more like <strong>a payoff to keep him quiet<\/strong> 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 <strong>the immediate resignation or removal of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globenewswire.com\/news-release\/2025\/07\/30\/3124587\/0\/en\/Concerned-Citizens-of-Alexandria-Release-Urgent-Statement-on-Alexandria-Indiana-Water-Safety-After-Child-Hospitalized.html\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Caldwell<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"\u2696\ufe0f-caught-lying-on-record\">\u2696\ufe0f <strong>Caught Lying on Record<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not negligence. This is <strong>active obstruction.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"\ud83d\uded1-accountability-now\">\ud83d\uded1 <strong>Accountability Now<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Caldwell is not a scapegoat he is the <strong>primary gatekeeper.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He controls the logs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He controls the reports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He is paid more than anyone in Alexandria to do this job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And he failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"215\" height=\"328\" src=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.png\" alt=\"Mark Caldwell\" class=\"wp-image-19839\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5.png 215w, https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-5-197x300.png 197w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"\ud83d\udce2-call-to-action\">\ud83d\udce2 <strong>Call to Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On <strong>August 27th at 5:30 PM<\/strong>, citizens will confront their officials at the Alexandria council meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you believe $72,000 should buy <strong>clean water not poisoned families<\/strong>, then demand the resignation of <strong>Mark Caldwell, Alexandria Water Superintendent.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19831"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19840,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19831\/revisions\/19840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scrooge.casino\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}