New Fee Expected For Western Springs Residents

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – A new fee to pay for stormwater projects in Western Springs is expected to start next year.

Under the village's current proposal, the fee would have three tiers. The annual costs under the tiers would be $147, $210 and $294.

According to the village, about 60 percent of households would pay the middle tier – $210 a year.

The stormwater fee would be based on the amount of impervious surfaces on a property. Such surfaces are often blamed for flooding.

Officials say a fee would, among other things, help pay for flood control in the Springdale and Ridgewood neighborhoods, where projects are expected to be in the millions.

With the stormwater fee, the village said it would be able to issue $9.5 million in bonds.

The fee would also apply to nonresidential property as well.

Under the plan, the village would give credits of 10 to 20 percent to property owners who take measures to reduce flooding such as detention basins, rain gardens, permeable pavers and cisterns.

"I think this is a really nice incentive and opportunity to have our residents have a role in the overall stormwater management," Trustee Heidi Rudolph said at last week's Village Board meeting. "This is a big issue facing all of us."

Much of the village's stormwater system, she said, has been in place for 90 years or more.

"As each day passes and our storms get worse and our stormwater system continues to age, I believe we may be on borrowed time," Rudolph said. "We have not had a historical means to address this infrastructure. We have to sometimes Band-Aid things as they break. As we have seen, many of our residents have experienced unprecedented flooding in recent years."

She said many Chicago suburbs have similar fees. Such a fee, she said, would also help the village have the money to match state grants for stormwater projects.

The Village Board has not voted on the fee, but trustees reacted positively last week.

The village expects it can get the first stormwater bills out in the first four to six months of next year. Officials said they have been speaking with residents and local groups about the issue.

Over the summer, Western Springs trustees decided to pay a consultant up to $77,000 to develop a plan for the fee.

Last Tuesday, a slight majority of Western Springs voters rejected a proposed increase in the village's sales tax by 1 percentage point. The tax would have paid for infrastructure projects in general, including for stormwater.