INDIANAPOLIS -- Angry homeowners told tales of tree-trimming disasters at the statehouse on Thursday, where they accused utility companies of damaging their plants and property values.

A joint legislative committee heard complaints from homeowners, many of whom said workers from Indianapolis Power and Light had destroyed their foliage while trimming back around power lines, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

"They don't care, it's not their property. If it was their property, they wouldn't do it," said Indianapolis homeowner Pat Easterday. "They stumped my trees, stumped my trees. They didn't trim them, they stumped them."

Officials with IPL said that they must routinely cut down or trim trees to reduce problems that cause outages to 150,000 customers a year.

"Under transmission towers and under power lines you cannot plant tall-growing trees," said company spokeswoman Crystal Livers-Powers. "From the moment you plant that tree, there is going to be conflict between the power line. Eventually, your tree is going to have to be removed."

Still, some homeowners claimed that IPL workers had gotten particularly aggressive since 2002, "butchering" trees and bushes.

"This is David versus Goliath. There is no recourse other than exhausting your personal fund trying to seek legal counsel to go against the utility to protect your privacy, the aesthetics and property values," said Indianapolis homeowner Stephanie Dawson.

Lawmakers said that they would consult the existing regulatory agencies to find out if they had authority to deal with such complaints and try to find a common solution to protect homeowners.

IPL officials said the company has guidelines about the tree-pruning process. Livers-Powers said that homeowners are notified three months in advance that workers will be coming to trim.