Politics & Government
Storm Water Utility Approved by Trustees
To lessen the debt impact on the tax books, residents and nonprofits will start receiving a bill based on their impervious square footage.
The average Whitefish Bay homeowner will pay an annual $100 storm water utility bill to help offset the borrowing costs of the village's massive storm sewer improvement plan.
The storm water utility fee has been discussed over the past year as a supplementary revenue stream to partly fund an annual average of $2.35 million in storm sewer improvements over the next 15 years. The Village Board on Monday debated how much of that money should be financed through taxes and how much should be charged in fees.
After originally discussing a storm water utility that would charge $400 per 3,000 square feet of impervious surface, the Whitefish Bay Village Board on Monday night voted 5-1 to charge $100 per 3,000 square feet of impervious surface.
That means $600,000 of the annual $2.35 million storm sewer would cost would be funded with storm water utility fees, while the rest would be funded with borrowing and debt.
The village's ability to raise property taxes is limited by state levy limits, so a storm water utility would allow the village to fund those planned sewer improvements without raising taxes. The board will continue to re-evaluate the scale and scope of sewer improvements every year.
By funding the sewer work partly through the storm water utility, the owner of a $400,000 home would pay roughly $26 less on their tax bill in 2017 and $50 less in 2021.
Nonprofits nervous
Under a storm water utility, non-profits like the village, school district and churches will be responsible for their storm water runoff impact – meaning their bill would be based on the amount of impervious surface on their property.
St. Monica Parish trustee Sandy Harris said the increase would strike a financial blow to the church, which would have to ask its congregation – including Whitefish Bay residents – to contribute additional funds.
"We are concerned, honestly, that if there is a storm water utility tax, it will have a significant impact on our parish finances," Harris said. "The same people who live in Whitefish Bay and pay the storm water utility tax are the same people who belong to St. Monica."
Although nonprofits have not yet received any formal communication about the utility charges, Village Engineer Dan Naze said the village's top 20 rate payers will soon receive a letter explaining their anticipated assessment and inviting them to an informational meeting on June 13.
Taxes vs. fees
The majority of the board remained supportive of the storm water utility Monday night. After a year of discussion, it had already budgeted for $100 in revenue per 3,000 square feet of impervious space in the village.Trustee Carl Fuda was the only board member to vote against the utility, saying it will cost most taxpayers more than an equivalent tax levy.
With two-third of the cost distribution returning back to the village, school district or other local non-profits, Fuda said residents will end up paying more than the amount considered on the spreadsheets.
"Any implementation...would mean taxpayers pay more, nonprofits pay more...our school district starts paying thousands of dollars a year more – which is the taxpayer again," he said.
Fuda also crunched the numbers and said the village has the financial capacity to borrow the full amount of sewer funds without pursuing a storm water utility fee. The Village Board had decided last year that, to preserve their high bond rating, it would not borrow more than 3.5 percent of the village's equalized value at any point in time.
(This story was updated at 9:11 a.m. June 5)
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