Stormwater Utility Fee Coming to Inver Grove Heights

Proponents of a new stormwater utility fee system in Inver Grove Heights say the fees will spread the costs of stormwater maintenance more evenly across the residents and organizations that call Inver Grove Heights home.

But opponents, including Councilor Bill Klein, say the system is little more than a new "tax" that will hurt Inver Grove Heights residents right where it counts—in their pocketbooks.

On Monday, the Inver Grove Heights City Council voted 4-1 to approve the city-wide stormwater utility fee, which should generate as much as $300,000 annually for the maintenance of the city's stormwater system. Klein cast the only vote in opposition to the fee.

Under the new system, local residents, businesses and organizations will all be charged based on the amount of impervious surface they have on their property—and how much runoff water city officials estimate flows off each parcel of land. To further differentiate the rates, city officials have divided property in the city into three categories: Rural, urban and Northwest Area. Each category has a different rate and surcharge fee. The annual cost of the fees ranges from as little as $11.09 for rural residents to as much as $399 for certain businesses.

In previous years, the city paid for the costs of stormwater maintenance out of the general fund—which is, in turn, fueled by local taxes. But nonprofit organizations, including churches and schools, are exempt from property taxes, and have never had to pay into the stormwater system, city officials noted during the meeting.

Because nonprofits will also be subject to the utility fees, the new system equalizes the cost of maintenance over a greater number of property owners in the city, City Administrator Joe Lynch has said.

The proposed stormwater utility would pay for street sweeping, erosion and sedimentation control inspections, storm sewer system inspections and repairs, storm water pond and infiltration basin cleaning and maintenance and drainage ditch cleaning.

“This is another government thing again, and I’m totally against it," Klein said during the meeting. "I’m again this whole thing, just because it’s another tax, not a fee."

"We would be significantly raising our general fund if we didn’t do this, this spreads it out to every person that has impervious surface in the city," Councilor Rosemary Piekarski Krech said in response to Klein's comments. "Not everybody is paying for this now; only the home and business owners of the community are paying it now. This spreads it out to everybody who contributes to stormwater.”

An appeal process would allow property owners to petition for a lower rate if they can demonstrate that their property produces significantly less than the estimated amount. Property owners will raingardens or other features that reduce runoff can also earn "credits" under the system that will reduce their stormwater utility fee.

To find out how much you'll pay under the new system, click on the PDF file attached to this article, and scroll down to page 304.