Marathon County committee backs amendments to private onsite wastewater code and $6 annual maintenance charge

Marathon County’s Environmental Resources Committee recommended Sept. 2 that the county amend Chapter 15 of the Marathon County General Code of Ordinances governing private onsite wastewater treatment systems (POWTS) and add a $6 annual maintenance special charge to be placed on property tax bills to fund a POWTS maintenance program. The committee also voted to add the $6 item to the Conservation, Planning & Zoning (CPZ) fee schedule, contingent on county board approval of the ordinance change.

Committee members heard from Shad Harvey, Marathon County land resources manager, who summarized the package of changes as updates to cross-references, clarification language, and a new POWTS special maintenance charge. “We’d suggested moving forward with the $6 fee,” Harvey said during the hearing, noting towns and residents had been asked for input before the public hearing. The proposed ordinance was distributed to townships in July and drew written responses from three town boards.

The proposed fee is intended to fund a county-run maintenance program for POWTS. County Administrator Lance Leonard told the committee the revenue from the fee would be dedicated to the program. “The fee and the revenue derived from it would go directly back into delivering the service,” Leonard said, adding the committee’s current budget planning assumes roughly $125,000 in revenue from the proposal and that those dollars are counted in the administration’s preliminary budget assumptions.

Town officials and residents raised questions and concerns. The Town of Hall’s minutes and email, included in the packet, stated the town was not in favor of the POWTS charge, saying it could burden property owners. The Town of Knowlton’s minutes indicated similar concerns, chiefly the potential for the fee to increase over time; the Town of Day sent questions that county staff followed up on by phone. Marilyn Bennett, the town representative present, emphasized the costs property owners face for POWTS work and hauler fees, asking whether the special charge could be managed on the tax bill without additional municipal billing costs.

Harvey explained how the special charge would appear on tax bills: like a special assessment line item that lists the POWTS maintenance fee annually. He said the county would place the charge on the tax bill, not the local municipality. Asked whether the fee would be placed in a specific fund for POWTS work, staff replied that the revenue would be tied to and used for delivering the maintenance service. Administrator Leonard said that the county is under pressure to increase fees in multiple departments and that, absent fee revenue, the county would have to identify program cuts or other levy increases. “If you think this is unreasonable, dollars $6 fee, you’re not going to like the fee schedule I present to you because it’s going to have a lot more increases in fees,” Leonard said when describing broader budget pressures. He also said the administration currently expects to leave roughly eight to 10 positions unfunded in the coming budget cycle as part of balancing options.

Staff clarified permit fees for POWTS installations: the sanitary permit base fee varies by system type and generally does not cover ongoing maintenance inspections; for example, Harvey stated a holding-tank sanitary permit base fee is $6.50 and a mound system sanitary permit base fee is $500 plus a $250 review fee, while after-the-fact permits may double. Staff said ongoing maintenance inspections and the new program’s costs are not recovered by those base permit fees, which is why the maintenance charge is proposed.

On motions, the committee voted to approve the ordinance amendment as presented and to add the POWTS maintenance charge to the CPZ fee schedule while noting the fee schedule action is contingent on county board approval of the ordinance. The committee approved both motions by voice vote; the ordinance amendment passed with at least one dissent noted, and the vote to add the fee schedule item carried.

The committee’s action is a recommendation to the Marathon County Board of Supervisors; final adoption of the Chapter 15 amendments and the $6 annual special charge will be decided by the county board at a later meeting. If the county board approves the rezoning and fee schedule, staff said the collected revenue will be used only for delivering POWTS maintenance and related CPZ services.