Officials revoke storm-water utility fee

Fees connected with the utility would raise $1.27 million annually.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have rescinded a storm-water utility fee of $15 to $30 that was intended to address an Environmental Protection Agency mandate that the county clean up its storm water.
Commissioners Paul Heltzel and Dan Polivka voted Monday to rescind the board's Aug. 3 decision. Commissioner James Tsagaris, who voted for the measure earlier this month, did not attend the meeting.
Proponents of the storm-water utility had came to the commissioners asking for the measure to be approved at a time when other issues were brewing, Heltzel said. The storm-water utility had come up the week commissioners debated the appointment of clerk Paulette Godfrey as interim administrator, in response to the resignation of Administrator Tony Carson Jr.
Reasoning
"Since then, I've talked to a couple people and read a couple articles. I just need more time," Heltzel said. "We have to do something, but it's a matter of what. It's not going to hurt anything if this thing's delayed a month or two."
Heltzel said he was also caught a bit off guard at the Aug. 16 meeting. That's when Mike Wilson, county Soil and Water Conservation District executive director, came back to the board asking that they approve a $10,000 appropriation of SWCD money to update a study done in 2003 on the storm-water utility. Commissioners tabled that matter, and it has not reappeared during the two meetings since then.
Heltzel said the additional $10,000 "might be justified," but he wants to take additional time to study that as well. "I need to go over it and get my hands around it, get comfortable with it," he said.
The EPA set a deadline of January 2008 to meet storm-water requirements, proponents have said.
Polivka, who cast the dissenting vote on the storm-water utility Aug. 3, said Monday, "In this climate we're in, if we don't need this until 2008, I don't know why we're doing this now."
Proponents have attempted to form the storm-water district for four years and have used staff within the SWCD and other agencies to address both federal and state EPA mandates that urbanized areas of the county clean up their storm water.
Details
The utility will cost $30 per year, charged on property taxes, for residents of Bazetta, Brookfield, Champion, Howland, Hubbard, Liberty, Newton, Vienna, Warren and Weathersfield townships. It will be $15 for property owners in Cortland, Girard, Hubbard, Newton Falls, Niles and McDonald. The fees will raise about $1.27 million annually.
Proponents have said the county is coming closer to being in noncompliance with the EPA, and that could lead to fines. The fees were to be used to pay salaries for workers in the SWCD, county health department, planning commission and highway engineer's office.
The fees were intended to help strengthen the Stream Watch education program, support storm-water enforcement and pay for improvements to storm-water infrastructure such as ditches and culverts in the 10 townships affected.
The SWCD's Wilson said if steps aren't taken by the end of September to get tax amounts to the county auditor, the fee collection for the storm-water utility will have to wait another year.
runyan@vindy.com