Support for new stormwater fee in St. Charles dries up

The need for flood relief won't get in the way of economic relief for St. Charles residents.

A city council committee voted to indefinitely postpone the creation of a new stormwater management fee that would've forced even landowners who pay no property taxes to chip in for flood relief costs.

Flood relief efforts like repairing storm sewers and checking for illegal sump pump connections cost the city about $2.2 million a year. About $1.6 million of that cost comes from the general fund, which is the city's main checkbook. The city staff came up with the idea for the new fee as a way to create a critical mass of dollars for big flood relief projects that just never happens in the general fund.

But committee members' eyes bugged out Monday night when they heard estimates of what the new fee would mean in new costs for area residents, businesses, churches and schools.

The amount paid is based on the amount of impervious surface (mostly pavement and buildings) on an individual lot. The more impervious surfaces, the higher the fee. With that logic, the city staff developed this fee system:

Ÿ Single-family homeowners would pay between $51 and $74 per year to the city.

Ÿ An average church property of about 15 acres would pay $6,145 a year to the city.

Ÿ An school property of about 73 acres would pay about $16,740 a year to the city.

Ÿ A business property of about 35 acres would pay about $21,234 a year to the city.

Ÿ A government-owned property of about 9 acres would pay about $4,300 a year to the city.

“Looking at the numbers ... it seems like a large amount of money,” said Alderman Ed Bessner.

City Administrator Brian Townsend said property owners could lower their individual fees by qualifying for credits that would knock a certain percentage off the fee. For example, a subdivision with a detention basin larger than is actually needed could receive a reduction in the fee. Likewise, parking lots with permeable pavers instead of asphalt could qualify for a credit.

But Alderman Jim Martin said he's not interested in paying, or charging, any kind of new fee right now.

“I think that with the current economic situation that we're in, to impose a new fee on residents, it's just a burden that we really don't need now,” he said.

Martin then moved to delay further discussion of the fee to an undetermined date. The entire committee agreed with him.