District 6 DuPage board candidates oppose stormwater fee
The idea of charging DuPage County property owners a fee to pay for efforts to control stormwater runoff is proving to be too controversial for both candidates in the District 6 county board race.
Democratic incumbent Laurie Nowak and her opponent in the Nov. 4 election, Republican Kevin Wiley, agree flooding is a serious problem in DuPage.
They also said during a recent Daily Herald endorsement interview that the solution isn't a state law that gives DuPage the ability to charge a countywide stormwater utility fee.
"I don't think we should enact it," said Nowak, a Bartlett resident. "People are seeing their property taxes go up, and the last thing we want to do is slap another tax or fee on top of them."
County officials have said infrastructure improvements are needed. Right now, money for those projects comes from property taxes.
If adopted, a stormwater utility fee would charge property owners based on use. Those who have more stormwater leaving their land would pay a higher fee. Anyone with land producing less stormwater runoff would pay a lower fee.
Enacting a fee would make it possible to have charges for stormwater projects removed from the property tax bill.
Still, Wiley says he opposes the fee because of the impact it would have on churches and other tax-exempt entities that would be required to pay it.
"Just because you're charging a church for it doesn't mean Kevin's not paying for it," Wiley said. "I go to that church. I donate to that church."
The West Chicago resident says county officials need to determine what caused the flooding problems.
"Flooding is the result of poor engineering and failed zoning practices," Wiley wrote in a Daily Herald candidate questionnaire. "Before we indiscriminately throw money at flooded areas, we need to address those failures or we'll end up right back where we started."
Wiley disagreed with Nowak when she suggested the county might be able to transfer surplus cash from its transportation fund to help pay for stormwater projects.
However, Wiley didn't offer an alternative for where extra money for stormwater projects could come from. Both candidates said they don't want a property tax increase.
Instead of charging a fee, Nowak said the county should explore an incentive-based program that encourages property owners to make improvements to their land to alleviate flooding.
"We need to combine best practices along with personal responsibility," said Nowak, adding that there have been successful programs on the East Coast.
District 6 includes all or parts of Aurora, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Naperville, Roselle, St. Charles, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Wheaton and Winfield.