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Storm water fee discussion on tap
An ordinance to collect a storm-water utility fee was approved in April, but now village council will hear a reading of a new ordinance to replace it.
Council members want to remove the cap on the storm-water utility fee, which is based on Equivalent Residential Units (ERU). An ERU serves as an index to compare the runoff water generated by different-sized properties with different amounts of impervious surface.
The April ordinance authorized a $3.50 monthly fee, which officials estimate will bring in $70,000 annually, and originally capped any commercial property at five ERU, said Mayor Tim Sicafuse.
“Each home regardless of size would be $3.50 per month, or $42 annually, for any homeowner regardless of the size of the home,” Sicafuse said.
He said that will remain the same, but the new ordinance will not include a cap for commercial property and will equate every 2,500 square feet with one ERU. The monthly rate is $3.50 per ERU.
Sicafuse added that residents had expressed concern about the ordinance’s equity.
“The bigger places are going to pay more,” Sicafuse said. “Some people will probably complain, but it’s logical. The more runoff water you produce, the more you should contribute.”
Other changes in the ordinance, such as how the fee will be collected and how delinquencies would be handled, led to a new ordinance rather than an amendment, said solicitor Anthony D’Apolito.
“It may be better to start the process again because there are three or four changes,” D’Apolito said. “Then we can do a hearing on it, and citizens can voice their displeasure or their satisfaction.”
Councilman David Raspanti said he is opposed to the new ordinance.
“I think the way it was written originally fosters a sense of community and that the proposed change would turn it into a punitive action,” he said.
If the new ordinance does not have a cap, Raspanti said he will vote against it.
“One of the reasons is that we have quite a few vacant commercial properties. I don’t think this is going to help any,” he added.
The first reading of the new ordinance will occur at Tuesday’s council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 308 S. Main St.