Who should pay for DuPage Co.'s flood control?

DuPage leaders still are wrestling with fundamental questions related to who pays for a proposed flood-control fee and how comprehensive it should be.

A county study recommends charging a user fee to every property owner in DuPage, including tax-exempt entities such as local governments and non-profit organizations, such as churches.

The fee would be based on the amount of their paved-over surfaces. Currently, the county's stormwater funding comes mainly from property taxes.

Some county stormwater management planning committee members today argued that charging school districts is inequitable.

"A tax-capped entity like a school district has no capacity for replacement," committee member and Elmhurst Mayor Tom Marcucci said. "I think they'll resent it a great deal."

An average household might pay about $26 to $29 a year while owner of bigger parcels, such as a typical church, might pay $4,550.

The fee could generate $14 million to $15 million annually. Half of those revenues would go to repaying loans, while the rest would pay for maintenance of structures such as dams and reservoirs, flood mapping, buyouts of chronically water-logged sites and complying with the federal Clean Water Act.

The measure requires approval from the committee and ultimately the county board.