Delaware County engineers propose value-based drainage assessments; hearing continued to Aug. 28

County Engineer Chris Bauserman and Chief Deputy Engineer Rob Riley presented a proposal to the Delaware County Board of County Commissioners to consolidate 409 single-family residential drainage maintenance projects into a single drainage maintenance district and replace the current percentage-of-construction-base assessments with a value-based assessment tied to property tax valuation.

Bauserman said the change would “change the way that we collect drainage maintenance assessments in residential subdivisions” and argued the move would correct disparities between adjacent lots that now pay different assessments despite receiving the same level of service.

The proposal, the engineers said, would apply only to platted single-family residential lots that are already in the county’s drainage maintenance program; it would not add properties to the program or change maintenance responsibilities. The engineers cited authority under Ohio Revised Code Section 61.37 and said the county’s drainage program also operates under a three-party agreement among the Board of County Commissioners, the county engineer’s office and the Soil and Water Conservation District. They noted the county must design and maintain stormwater facilities consistent with federal Clean Water Act requirements and any applicable Ohio EPA permit.

Rob Riley, chief deputy engineer, presented parcel-level modeling and recommended a 0.3-mill collection rate as the baseline for the consolidated district. “This will result in a 46% decrease in revenue,” Riley said, explaining that the county currently collects roughly $1.9–$2.0 million a year from the separate single-family subdivision assessments and spends a little over $1 million annually.

Riley and Bauserman told commissioners the county has accumulated a sizeable reserve in the drainage maintenance fund—about $11 million—which they said would support a lower annual collection while maintaining a buffer for unexpected work. Under the engineers’ modeling, about 95% of the roughly 18,000 assessed parcels would pay less than $100 per year under the proposed system; the median annual assessment would be about $52 (a 27% decline from current medians) and the mean would be about $56 (reflecting the overall 46% revenue reduction). The engineers said only about 51 parcels would have assessments above $200 per year under the proposal.

The presenters used a local example, Wedgewood Place off Sawmill Road, to illustrate phase-based inequities under the current percentage-of-base method: one section was assessed about $144 per year while an adjacent section paid about $62 per year despite sharing the same drainage infrastructure.

Bauserman and Riley said the change would simplify administration by consolidating 409 separate project accounts and shrinking annual inspection reports that the board currently approves. They proposed that new single-family developments entering the maintenance program would be added to the consolidated district through the usual petition process; agricultural drainage projects would continue to be handled under the existing, separate methodology because of differing land-use valuations and CAUV (current agricultural use valuation) treatment.

Commissioners asked questions about future flexibility and oversight. Riley said the board retains annual discretion to set or adjust the collection rate when it approves the inspection report each year and that the smaller inspection reports would still recommend a collection rate for the following calendar year. Bauserman said the change would not alter maintenance responsibilities but would shift how assessments are apportioned among parcels.

No written testimony was filed, and no members of the public stepped forward to testify for or against the proposal during the hearing. The board formally continued the hearing to Aug. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. at the board’s office.

Separately, the board moved and approved a motion under Resolution No. 25-652 to adjourn into executive session for consideration of compensation of a public employee or public official, pending or imminent litigation and collective bargaining; Commissioners Benton, Lewis and Merrill voted aye and the board recessed into executive session following the vote.

Next steps: The engineers said staff will prepare the consolidated inspection report and the board will consider a resolution and the annual collection rate at a later meeting; the continued public hearing is set for Aug. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m.