Batavia may look to other towns for stormwater info

Batavia aldermen want more information about how to pay for stormwater drainage maintenance and repairs in case the city wants to to step up the speed and amount of the work.

One of the sources they may turn to is Downers Grove, which implemented a stormwater utility and a fee for it in 2012.

At a committee meeting Tuesday night, Alderman Lucy Thelin Atac suggested asking Downers Grove officials about what they did and how it is working, including whether the village had to hire more people to run the utility and do the drainage projects. Aldermen Alan Wolff, Michael O'Brien and Susan Stark also suggested seeking such information.

A consultant's report recommends Batavia spend another $1 million a year, about three times more than it currently does, on repairs and maintenance of stormwater sewers and other facilities. The work is paid for out of the general fund, which is supported by property taxes, sales taxes and other revenue.

If a utility were created, the city could charge property owners a fee, or it could do a combination of fees and general fund money.

Resident James Gorski - who earlier in the evening showed photographs of his house, surrounded by about a half-foot of water as a result of the June 15 storm - suggested what he called "Option D."

He lives on Blaine Street in an area that has combined sanitary and storm sewer pipes. Raw sanitary sewage came up through a toilet in his basement due to the sewer being too full to handle the rainwater.

The city has known about the combined sewer problems in the older areas of town since at least 2008, according to a study done then, and possibly longer.

"I disagree about raising the taxes or any fee on the people," Gorski said.

"Especially when the problem has been known for 20 years. Maybe you need to cut in some areas to pay for this. There are other ways to do this."

He and a neighbor have said the city needs to cut spending on items such as improving the appearance of the downtown streetscape and spend more on basics such as fixing the sewers.

But Wolff pointed out that the streetscape work is paid for by money from a tax-increment funding district that can't be spent elsewhere in the city.

As for cutting elsewhere in the budget, he said, eliminating a police squad car here and a city employee there won't be enough.

"We need a lot more money than we can shave off" other areas, Wolff said.