County council says yes to stormwater rate hike
Increase is necessary to meet new drainage requirements, says stormwater admin
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Howard County has nearly 500 miles of regulated drains. Most of that drainage infrastructure was installed in the late 1800s, and like most things well over 100 years old, it is beginning to fail.
The Howard County Stormwater District is requesting a fee increase to help offset the costs of updating the drainage system. That request came before the Howard County Council last week, and some of the council members had questions about the situation.
Stormwater drainage fees were last adjusted in 2009. In the intervening 13 years, the cost of maintenance and reconstruction has only increased, according to Greg Lake, Howard County’s stormwater administrator. The intent is to increase stormwater fees in increments over the next five years to help easy the burden on taxpayers.
Under the rate increase structure, an agricultural property would pay a base $20 per year, increasing by $1 a year over five years. Commercial properties would pay a $40 base fee with $5 annual increases. Industrial properties would pay a $60 base fee with $10 annual increases. And residential properties would pay a $30 base fee with $3 annual increases.
Stormwater fees are assessed as part of a property owner’s property tax bill.
“When we get to the end of this five-year process, do you have any idea of when the stormwater fees might be increased again?” asked Councilman Bryan Alexander. “Do you anticipate going another 13 years before raising them again?”
“In the past, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued our NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits by rule; it was first passed in 2003,” said Greg Lake. “It hadn’t changed until this year. Now, the state basically changes the requirements every five years.
“As those requirements become more stringent, the cost of this program could potentially increase. I only see this program increasing in its requirements. How quickly that happens, I don’t know.”
Howard County Council president Martha Lake (unrelated to Greg) explained that failing to adhere to the requirements of the permit can result in a penalty assessed to the county, giving local government no choice but to follow the permit rules.
Howard County Councilman John Roberts expressed concerns about the ability of an aging drainage system to handle increasingly heavier rainfall.
“We see in the news 100-year downpours that seem to come out of the blue,” said Roberts. “Drainage is crucial. What grade would you give our drainage system in Howard County? How much can we handle? Where is the red line?”
“How much rain can we handle? It’s very subjective,” said Greg Lake. “Our changing weather is a reality. We are experiencing more intense rains, more frequently. Our drains aren’t functioning as well. If we have more frequent, large storms, we will see an increase in degradation of our drainage infrastructure, which in turn, we will have to pay to fix.”
Roberts followed by asking if there was any way the state or federal government might allocate funding to help shore up the drainage infrastructure. Greg Lake explained that outside assistance is unlikely.
“The answer would be no,” said Greg Lake. “Drainage has always been paid for by the watershed owners. If you live in a watershed, you pay the bill. It’s a user fee on your property tax bill. When we have to do a reconstruction, just the people in that watershed pay for it.
“Do I see aid coming for that? No, I don’t. I will say that Howard County has blessed the drainage system by allowing some of the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money to be put toward it. That has been a tremendous help. And we have used EDIT (Economic Development Income Tax) dollars in the past for maintenance. That fronted the money so that we could buy down the cost.”
The council voted unanimously to approve the stormwater fees. This was the second step in the fee approval process. The measure already passed Howard County Stormwater District board. The next step puts the fee increases in front of the Howard County Board of Commissioners. If approved there, the proposal returns to the stormwater district board for final approval.