Council Continues Stormwater Utility Conversation

The stormwater utility issue was the major item on the agenda at Tuesday's village council meeting. David Hyder, from Municipal & Financial Services Group, gave the second of four presentations about the stormwater utility study.

The study is looking into the process of turning stormwater management into a utility.

Hyder focused strictly on the level of service and fees associated with stormwater management in Downers Grove.

Funds go into three main categories of capital project:

1)    Capital maintenance—the repair of existing stormwater assets

2)    Stormwater main replacement

3)    Watershed improvements—recommended expansion or improvements to stormwater system

Looking at the current level of service—which takes into account the debt involved (over $1 million), operating, and replacement costs—the costs for FY2013 would be $3,358,800. Hyder forecasted by 2017 the costs would be $4,042,700 for the same level of service.

For every dollar spent on stormwater management in 2013, as the system now stands, 49 cents goes to operating and maintenance costs, 17 cents goes to replacement, and 34 cents goes to the existing debt, he said.

The current funding level is not adequate to maintain and replace the system the way it should be. The way things stand now, it would take 220 years to replace the system, Hyder said. The average lifespan should be around 100 years.

Hyder said the recommended incremental operating, maintenance and replacements costs for 2013 would be $1.8 million, bringing the total cost to $5.8 million.

Looking at a stormwater utility, however, he said the monthly fee required to fund the recommended level of service would be $12.80.

The average stormwater utility fee around the country is in the $4 – $5 range, Hyder said.

Bloomington, for example has a population of 76,610, and their annual stormwater fee revenues are $2,760,000. Other towns use additional revenue sources to fund the utility and don’t rely solely on the fees.

Council commissioners asked a variety of questions.

Commissioner Bob Barnett talked about the difference between it being a stormwater utility fee or tax.

“‘Fee starts to sound innocuous,” he said, adding that these are new heavy-duty property taxes and the subject matter is a big deal for everyone in the village since the fees would increase over the years.

“I’m just trying to get some arms around the magnitude,” he said.

These numbers are not because Downers Grove is contemplating a stormwater utility, Hyder said. At some point the village will have to spend this money. If the village keeps moving forward with their current approach, they’ll be collecting more and more from residents.

Most of the revenues are coming from residents, and that becomes exacerbated as you move forward, he said.

A couple members of the council asked that if prior to the next stormwater utility meeting they could get the slides ahead of time so they would be able to ask more informed questions at the next presentation.