Washington’s Storm Water Utility was the main topic of discussion for the City Council. The utility was created in 2004 when the State of Indiana mandated the creation of the department to deal with rain water runoff. At that time the City set a flat rate of $3 per month for Utility customers. Mayor Joe Wellman says the utility is losing money and the Waste Water Department is current subsidizing the Storm Water Utility.
The problem with the current system is that homeowners bear the largest burden
while some of the properties creating the most storm water runoff, like parking lots, are not on utility billing rolls and are not assessed any fees. The current system generates about $248,000, but the utility needs a little over $400,000 per year to function and address Washington’s drainage problems. Richard Burch of Midwestern Engineers and John Sievers of Umbaugh and Associates presented a plan that would be a partial remedy. The plan would create Equivalent Residential Units or ERUs. Each ERU would be 2550 sq ft of impervious surface. That includes rooftops, sidewalks, parking lots, and other paved or surfaced areas. Property owners in Washington would be assessed a fee based of $4.25 per ERU. The state average is $5.36. The plan would also cap the maximum fee at $75 per month. The Mayor talked about plan’s goals…
The Council directed City Attorney Tim Dant to draw up an ordinance to implement the new plan.
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The Washington City Council introduced four new ordinances Monday dealing with employee pay for the next year. Mayor Wellman said City Employees should see a 50 cent per hour raise next year. The Council also heard an ordinance approving a plat of a section of the Deerfield Subdivision. A neighbor of the subdivision, Charles Hughes, complained about redirected water runoff from the subdivision cutting a ditch through his property. City Engineer Ed Barnett will be investigating that complaint.
