§ 86-84. Stormwater management user system.

(1)

Purpose. It is determined and declared to be necessary and conducive to the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience of the village to collect charges from all users of the village stormwater collection system. The proceeds of such charges will be used to fund the management of its stormwater system of the village to include reinvestment in the maintenance and improvement of existing infrastructures, and other improvements to the system that will reduce urban non-point source pollution in stormwater run-off consistent with federal and state regulations.

(2)

Definitions. Unless the ordinance specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this section shall be as follows:

Developed property means real property which has been altered from its natural state by the addition of any improvements, such as a building, structure or impervious surface.

Dwelling unit means a single unit or apartment providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more person, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

Equivalent run-off unit (ERU) means the statistical average amount of horizontal impervious area per single-family property of all "single-family properties" within the village on the date of adoption of this section. The horizontal impervious area includes, but is not limited to, all areas covered by structures, roof extensions, patios, porches, driveways and sidewalks.

Extension and replacement means all costs of extension, addition and capital improvement to the system, the renewal and replacement of capital assets or purchase and installation of new equipment for the system, or land acquisition for the system, or any related costs thereto, or payment for extraordinary maintenance and repair, including the costs of construction, or any other expenses which are not costs of operation and maintenance.

Fiscal year means a 12-month period commencing on the first day of January of any year.

Impervious area or impervious surface means a horizontal surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by rainwater. It includes, but is not limited to, semi-impervious surfaces such as compacted clay, as well as streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and other similar surfaces.

Mobile home means a single residential unit (mobile home) within a mobile home park.

Multi-family means a residential property with two or more dwelling units.

Nonresidential means any developed property not used, primarily, as a permanent residence, such as a commercial, industrial property or an institutional property (schools, churches, hospitals, fraternal organizations, parks, municipal facilities, etc.)

Operating budget means estimated revenues and the estimated costs for operations and maintenance, extension and replacement of the system for each fiscal year.

Operation and maintenance means the current expenses, paid or accrued, of operation, maintenance and current repair of the system, as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, insurance premiums, administrative expenses, labor, executive compensation, the cost of materials and supplies used for current operations and charges for the accumulation of appropriate reserves for current expenses not annually incurred, but which are such as may reasonably be in accordance with sound accounting practice.

Rate means the user fee charged on each ERU. The rate is determined by the village board for each fiscal year.

Revenues means all rates, fees, assessments, rentals, fines or other charges or other income received by the village in connection with the management and operation of the system, including amounts received from the investment or deposit of moneys in any fund or account, as herein required, and any amounts contributed by the village, all as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practices.

Single-family or single-family property means a residential property with exactly one dwelling unit.

Stormwater system or system means the existing stormwater collection system of the village and all improvements thereto which by this section are constituted as the property and responsibility of the village to be operated as an enterprise to, among other things, conserve water, control discharges necessitated by rainfall events, incorporate methods to collect, convey, store, absorb, inhibit, treat, use or reuse water to prevent or reduce flooding, over-drainage, environmental degradation and water pollution or otherwise affect the quality and quantity of discharge from such system.

Undeveloped land means any real property with no impervious area.

User fee means the charge established by the village board on developed property in the village to pay for operations and maintenance, and extension and replacement for the stormwater system.

Village means the Village of West Milwaukee.

Village board means the village board of the village.

(3)

Disposition of revenue.

(a)

The user fees hereunder shall generate adequate annual revenues to pay costs for the stormwater management system.

(b)

The portion of the total user fees collected which are designated for operation and maintenance and extension and replacement, shall be deposited in a separate non-lapsing fund known as the "stormwater management system fund" and will be kept in two primary accounts as follows:

i.

An account designated for the specific purpose of defraying operation and maintenance costs, excluding extension and replacement of the storm sewer collection system (operation and maintenance account).

ii.

An account designated for the specific purpose of extension and replacement of the storm sewer collection system over the useful life of the collection system (extension and replacement account).

(c)

Fiscal year end balances in the operation and maintenance account, and the extension and replacement account shall be carried over to the same accounts in the subsequent fiscal year and shall be used for these accounts. Moneys which have been transferred from other sources to meet temporary shortages in the operation and maintenance, and extension and replacement, shall be returned to their respective accounts upon appropriated adjustment of the user fee rates. The user fee rate shall be adjusted such that the transferred monies will be returned to their respective accounts within the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the monies were borrowed.

(4)

User fees and rates.

(a)

User fee. The village board shall require that adequate revenues are generated through user fees to provide for a balanced operating budget. The village board hereby authorizes the imposition of user fees on all developed property in the village.

(b)

Rates. The village board will establish rates for each fiscal year. All rates established by the village board will be fair and reasonable and calculated to achieve a balanced operating budget for the system. Current rates will be on file in the office of the village clerk and village treasurer.

(c)

Rate schedule. For purposes of the imposition of the user fee, the developed property in the village shall be divided into five classes, which shall be called "customer classes". The rate within each customer class shall be uniform. The rate schedule is as follows:

Customer Class	Stormwater Charge
Single-family	1 ERU
Mobile home	0.7 ERU per dwelling unit
Multi-family	0.5 ERU per dwelling unit
Nonresidential	1 ERU for each 1956 square feet of impervious area, or a minimum of 0.5 ERU
Undeveloped Lands	No charge

 

(5)

Billing and payment. Bills for the user fee shall be rendered as part of the water bill for the property and become due and payable on the same date as the sewer bill. A penalty of one percent per month shall be added to bills not paid by the due date.

(6)

Lien. All user fees established hereunder shall be a lien upon the property served pursuant to Wis. Stats. §§ 66.076(7) and 66.069 and shall be collected in the manner therein provided.

(7)

Establishment of rate schedule. The village board shall use the ERU rate by separate resolution.

(8)

Adjustment of fees and appeal procedure.

(a)

Requests for adjustment. Requests for adjustment of the user fee shall be submitted to the village administrator, who is hereby given the authority to develop and administer the procedures and standards for the adjustment of fees as established herein. All requests shall be judged on the basis of the amount of impervious area on the site. No credit shall be given for the installation of facilities required by village or county development codes or state stormwater rules. The following procedure shall apply to all adjustment requests of the user fee:

i.

Any customer who has paid a user fee and believes the user fee to be incorrect, may, within 30 days of payment and subject to the limitations set forth in this section, submit an adjustment request of the village administrator.

ii.

Adjustment requests shall be in writing and set forth in detail, the grounds upon which relief is sought.

iii.

The customer requesting the adjustments may be required, at his own expense, to provide supplemental information to the village administrator, including, but not limited to, survey data approved by a registered professional land surveyor (R.P.L.S.) and engineering reports approved by a professional engineer (P.E.) Failure to provide such information may result in the denial of the adjustments request.

(iv)

The village administrator shall issue a written determination as to whether the request for adjustment shall be granted. For adjustments that are granted, a credit shall be applied to the customer's account. The credit shall only apply for the period of time subsequent to the filing of the request for adjustment. There shall be no retroactive adjustment for fees collected prior to the filing of the request. Denials of adjustment requests shall be made, in writing, by the village administrator.

(b)

Appeal procedure.

i.

Upon receipt of the written denial of an adjustment request, the customer who initially requested the adjustment may, within 30 days of receipt of such denial, appeal to the village board.

ii.

The village board shall complete its review within 45 days of receipt of said request for review. The village board determination shall be in writing and set forth in detail, the reason or reasons for its decision.

iii.

In reviewing denials of adjustment requests, the village board shall apply the standard and review criteria contained in subsection (a) of this section.

(9)

Public service commission complaint. Notwithstanding subsection (8), any user may file a complaint with the public service commission claiming that the rates, rules and practices herein are unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 66.076(9).

(Ord. No. 8-O-98, § 1, 12-7-98)