Lincolnshire trustees, meeting as the Committee of the Whole June 28, continued a previous discussion on possibly establishing a stormwater utility fee.
At the Village Board meeting that preceded the COTW meeting that night, mayor Elizabeth Brandt spoke about rainstorms that had taken place June 26. She said the storm dropped more than 1.5 inches of rain in less than 45 minutes. The rate of rainfall was over 3 inches per hour, she said, acknowledging the storm exceeded the capacity of the street storm drains to move water into the village storm sewer system. Village officials noted the Des Plaines River rose 1 foot in that time as well.
As the rain fell, there was a post on the Lincolnshire Facebook which noted that the Public Works Department was responding to localized flooding along the Des Plaines River, and near the Berkshire Lane and Kings Cross Drive areas. At least one resident responded and posted a complaint about the “inadequate sewer system.”
Against that background, trustees again took up the matter of how to pay for stormwater sewer capital projects – which officials have said are much needed – and related operating costs to relieve town flooding problems. However, the village leaders didn’t reach any firm conclusions.
A village-wide drainage study done a year ago raised the possibility of a dedicated revenue source to pay for stormwater mitigation projects. The village’s 10-year capital improvement plan has identified four areas where stormwater projects would be priority: Lincolnshire Drive – North, Lincolnshire Drive – South, Lincolnshire Creek – Coventry Lane, and Southeast – Windsor Drive. The estimated combined cost for the four projects to be completed over the next 10 years is $30 million, with expectations to fund those costs with bonds that might stretch out to 30 years.
In past meetings, trustees have considered several options to provide a dedicated revenue source for the work, all involving charging property owners some sort of stormwater utility fee.
Ben Roesler, assistant village manager and community and economic development director, told trustees June 28 that village staff had conferred with village consultant Christopher B. Burke Engineering and concluded that the most equitable method for funding projects would be to charge property owners a fee based on the amount of impervious surface on their property.
Properties would be rated in equivalent resident units of impervious surface, with each unit equivalent to 5,000 square feet of impervious or non-porous surface. Roesler said 60% of Lincolnshire homeowners would be rated at one equivalent residential unit or less.
Based on the total number of equivalent units in town, 6,699, and a total projected annual cost of a little over $1.4 million for all stormwater projects, including capital and operating costs, Roesler said the math would yield an annual charge of about $211, or about $17.60 a month, for the average property owner with one unit of impervious surface.
More Top Picks Best Wedge Pillows For Side Sleepers
The math may seem simple, but trustees saw the issue as much more complicated.
Trustee Julie Harms Muth summed it simply by saying the village should pay part of the cost and not put the entire burden on property owners. She noted that the village intends to pay the cost of its crosstown water main project out of the general fund and wondered why that shouldn’t be the case for stormwater projects.
“How do we find $3.6 million for (the crosstown water main) project from the general fund, but (have) no money from the general fund for stormwater?” she asked.
Trustee Mara Grujanac was concerned about older residents on fixed incomes and suggested an additional category for homeowners with smaller, older homes. Perhaps, she suggested, there should be a different charge for properties with less than 2,500 square feet of impervious surface. She was also concerned with recent action to charge residents for leaf collection and the prospect of a stormwater utility fee.
“We are just ‘feeing’ up our residents,” she said.
Brandt joined other trustees in agreeing that more work is needed before a decision about a separate fee for stormwater projects can be made.
“We just need to say, ‘here’s what we have the stomach for,'” she said, suggesting that grants might be available and that charging any fee could be delayed. “But we’re (eventually) going to have to do something.”
That “something” may come soon, as trustees are to review financial plans and begin budget considerations at the July 12 and July 26 meetings.
Graydon Megan is a freelancer.