Northbrook board approves stormwater fee increase to stabilize fund
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Summary
The Village of Northbrook approved a rate increase for the stormwater utility after a consultant study found the current $1 per 1,000-gallon fee cannot cover debt service and operations; the increase is intended to return the fund to a positive balance by fiscal 2027–28.
The Village of Northbrook Board of Trustees voted to accept a stormwater utility rate study and adopt an ordinance increasing the stormwater fee to $2 per 1,000 gallons, effective Dec. 1, with a smaller additional increase projected in fiscal 2027–28.
The board approved a resolution accepting the final draft of the stormwater utility rate study prepared by NewGen Strategies and Solutions and adopted amendments to the village—s annual fee ordinance to implement the higher stormwater charge. Trustees voted by roll call; the motion carried unanimously.
The study and staff presentation said the stormwater enterprise fund, created in 2012, has seen its debt service rise as projects from the village—s Master Stormwater Management Plan were completed while the fee remained at $1 per 1,000 gallons. The village—s presentation said the fund currently has a negative balance and that raising the fee is necessary to return the fund to a positive position and minimize new debt.
Under the proposal approved by the board, the fee increase to $2 per 1,000 gallons takes effect Dec. 1, 2025; a smaller follow-on increase is forecast for the start of fiscal 2027–28. Staff projections shown to the board indicate the fund would reach a positive ending balance beginning in fiscal 2027–28 under the proposed schedule while largely funding planned capital on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Public works and trustee speakers framed the measure as correcting a long-standing underpricing: the fund had not been adjusted since 2012 despite inflation and rising costs for completed projects. Trustees and staff also cited observable reductions in flood-related calls to Public Works since the village began funding stormwater projects, and residents at the meeting said more work remains in some neighborhoods.
Resident Bill Barris, who said he lives on Jeffrey Court West and has attended the stormwater committee for three years, asked when projects in Addendum 3 to the stormwater plan might be implemented and whether increased fees paid now would yield immediate localized work. Staff replied that some Addendum 3 projects were delayed in the study to avoid adding debt immediately; they said the fund could be reprioritized and bring projects forward if opportunities arise or as the fund balance improves, but any such moves would require board appropriation.
Trustees emphasized the village—s continuing discretion: staff will present opportunities and recommendations if conditions change and the board will have to appropriate funds before work proceeds. Trustees described the proposed fee as a modest per-household cost (the village—s materials estimate: about $14 per year extra for a minimum-bill customer, about $30 per quarter for an average customer) compared with the cost of basement flooding for affected households.
Ending
The board approved both the resolution accepting the NewGen rate-study final draft and the ordinance amending the annual fee ordinance. Staff said they will proceed with public communications about the fee change and with implementing the amended fee schedule.
