Council Hears Stormwater Recommendations

Tuesday night's fourth (and final) stormwater utility presentation at the meeting focused on recommendations for the village—including instituting a stormwater utility fee, reducing property taxes and not allowing any property exemptions.

David Hyder of Municipal and Financial Services Group said implementing a stormwater utility fee will provide improved equity because people will be paying based on the amount of impervious (impenetrable by water) property they own versus paying for it in property taxes.

The current stormwater system has been built over the last 80 years, according to Hyder, and contains 130 miles of storm sewers and 7,000 drainage structures.

Hyder said the utility would provide fiscal accountability because the revenue would be dedicated to the stormwater system. It would also provide a dedicated revenue stream.

And, he said, there would be an increased public awareness and people could be proactive with their property’s stormwater management.

According to the recommendations, the fee structure would be based on three categories of impenetrable square footage per property.

Hyder said they also recommend that all properties—regardless of whether or not they pay property taxes—be required to pay a stormwater utility. The average church in the village would pay about $100 a month.

A fee credit program should also be designed, according to Hyder. It would focus on giving credits to properties that work to reduce stormwater impact, he said.

Hyder recommended reducing property taxes by $1.3 million in 2013 and implementing the stormwater utility fee. Some property taxes would still pay the current debt on the stormwater system, but the stormwater fee would be set at a level that would fund the remaining balance to maintain the current level of service.

However, those fees will have to go up because the current level of service is not high enough to maintain and replace the stormwater system. Hyder recommended not immediately jumping into the more expensive level of service.

As an example, a house with 1,712 square feet of impervious area would pay $4.20 at the outset. They would get a credit of more than that in their property taxes—about $3 beyond what they’re paying as a fee, Hyder said.

It was recommended that the village increase the fees over time until they reach the recommended level of service by 2022. In other words, the fee will annually increase approximately 17 percent for the next decade.

Mayor Martin Tully seemed in favor of continuing the stormwater utility conversation.

“This seems to be the most logical approach,” he said. The current way funding works is ridiculous, unfair and ineffective, he added.

Commissioner Geoff Neustadt was also in favor of pursuing the stormwater utility as a possible solution.

Commissioner Marilyn Schnell said initially she was a “doubting Thomas” who thought a stormwater utility was a ridiculous idea. Now, however, “You’ve made a believer out of me,” she told Hyder.

Commissioner Bob Barnett mentioned the impact foliage has on the system. “Leaves certainly are a detrimental component to our stormwater system,” he said.

Schnell said the bottom line was that residents have to take responsibility to deal with leaves and keep the storm sewers clean.

Neustadt suggested putting an extra leaf sweep in the stormwater utility budget in the “maintenance” category.