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Council approves ditch-assessment ordinances to cover 10 Mile Creek petition; staff outlines six-year rate plan
Summary
Sylvania approved special-assessment ordinances tied to the 10 Mile Creek ditch petition and agreed to a multi-year rate plan intended to cover an expected $126,000 invoice from the county and build a stormwater reserve for future projects.
City officials presented a six-year plan to the Sylvania City Council on June 2 to respond to a Lucas County ditch petition related to 10 Mile Creek and to stabilize the city’s stormwater assessment account.
Public Service Director Joe Shaw said the county has issued a petition that will result in an early-2026 invoice to the city of about $126,000. To cover that expense and to build capacity for future stormwater and ditch work, the city proposed rate increases that would phase in beginning in 2026: a $4 per-lot annual increase for small and large residential classifications and a 50-cent annual increase on the non-residential impervious-surface metric (the threshold also was lowered from 5,000 to 4,000 square feet in the proposed wording).
Shaw explained that the account receives three base categories: small residential (current $17.25), large residential (current $34.50) and a commercial/other per-4,000-square-foot charge. Under the proposal, combined residential revenue would be “a little over $200,000” and the commercial/other category about $212,000, producing roughly $412,000 total revenue. Shaw noted the city can recover some costs from the county’s ditch petition process for physical work already performed and conservatively estimated about $30,000 in reimbursable credits.
Councilmember Hanson introduced ordinance 66-2025 (the annual assessment ordinance), which passed as an emergency measure without recorded roll-call tallies after the usual voice vote.
Shaw said the plan is intended to let the city treat the stormwater account more like a capital account to fund storm-sewer improvements locally (he cited a recent Oakland Court project where the city used capital funds) and to provide long-term sustainability. He warned that the biggest unknown is the county’s final ditch-petition cost in year six (2030/2031) and that staff would revisit the rates if the county invoice changes.
Council discussion touched on rate structure choices and the possibility of adjusting the split so small-lot increases are proportionally smaller. Council members asked staff to ensure proper public notices for assessed amounts later this year, and staff said they will follow statutorily required notice procedures.
