TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials to explain storm-water fee's details

A fee could not be repealed through voter initiative.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners will hold a public hearing later this month to explain a storm-water fee that would add $30 to the annual property taxes of many county residents.
Affected areas are Bazetta, Brookfield, Champion, Howland, Hubbard Township, Liberty, Newton Township, Vienna, Warren Township, Weathersfield, Cortland, Girard, Hubbard city, McDonald, Newton Falls and Niles.
The fee on commercial and industrial properties, meanwhile, is based on a formula but is capped at $6,000 per property per year on steel mills and $3,000 per year per property on factories in the areas covered by the new EPA Phase II storm-water regulations.
"The federal government is demanding that we do this and we have to play ball with them," said Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo Jr.
A fee imposed by county commissioners to pay for the program could not be repealed through a voter initiative.
Recommendation
Chris LeGros, a consultant with CT Consultants who worked on the plan, said she recommends that the county act on the fee before April, when it must report its progress to the EPA.
City officials and township trustees will be invited to the 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 meeting at the county agricultural center, where the tax will be explained.
Commissioners will act sometime after then. The timetable makes it unlikely the fee will be on tax bills mailed in January.
"A lot of people aren't aware what is going on," Angelo said. "To put it on their tax bills right now would be premature."
Putting funds to use
The fees are projected to raise $1.5 million a year to pay for the program required by the EPA. About half the money would be spent on local flood control projects, and half would go toward public education and identifying and monitoring sources of water pollution.
The fee for nonresidential properties is based on a formula that estimates the amount of water that runs off the land.
Property owners will be able to appeal their fees to a seven-member board, said John Woolard of the Trumbull County Soil and Water Conservation District. Fees can be reduced if property owners take steps to contain or treat storm water, he said.
"The important thing to remember is that this is about clean water," he said.
siff@vindy.com