Wheeling likely to begin charging stormwater fees in January
Stormwater management has been an issue for the Wheeling for many, many years says Wheeling Director of Finance Michael Mondschain, and taxpayers soon could start paying a monthly user fee to fund improvements and repairs to the village's infrastructure that helps curb flooding.
The proposed fee would create a funding source for the $48 million in improvements and maintenance a 14-month study of the village's flood-control infrastructure identified.
"Right now we don't have a source of revenue to dedicate to stormwater issues," Mondschain said.
The village, in recent years, has diverted tax dollars from their intended use to pay for the upgrades and maintenance.
But other municipalities, including Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows and Palatine, have started charging residents a fee for the impervious surfaces of lots where water isn't absorbed into the ground - driveways, parking lots, rooftops and sidewalks - and now Wheeling wants to do the same.
The proposal, unofficially approved by the village board in a straw poll Monday, would charge home and business owners a monthly fee of $2 per ERU, or equivalent runoff unit. One ERU is equivalent to a single-family home's average impervious area measurement of 3,000 square feet, as determined by a village study. The owner of a single-family home would pay $24 a year. The fee would be added to water bills.
With this measurement system, Mondschain says, industrial lots will see an average fee of $53 per month, or $636 for the first year, and commercial lots will pay an average $31 per month, or $374 for the first year.
"Because there's such a variance from one commercial or industrial customer to another, some will pay more than that, and some will pay less," Mondschain said.
The $2 monthly fee will likely increase over the years as the cost of projects and maintenance are expected to go up, officials say.
Wheeling Village President Dean Argiris says the village can't continue paying for stormwater management with its regular revenues.
"We're struggling with the general fund as it is, and to add a $1 million project or a $48 million long-term project, it is more of a burden," Argiris said.
Board member Joe Vito said he has concerns regarding the impact the user fee could have on commercial and industrial business owners. He said he's on board with the proposal as long as the village can show the user fee hasn't hindered economic development in municipalities that have adopted this funding model.
"But if it's going to prevent businesses from coming to town, prevent potential tax revenue we could use to pay for stormwater without a stormwater fee, then there may be some issues," Vito said.
Mondschain says he hasn't heard of any big reactions from business owners in area municipalities.
Mondschain says the village board will likely vote on the ordinance in November or December along with the village's budget ordinance and water and sewer ordinance. Until then, Mondschain says, the village will work on informing residents of the change they'll likely see come January.
"We've been given the direction to go ahead and start working on education material," Mondschain said.