Council adopts ordinance renaming "tap-on" fees to ‘equitable connection charge,’ sets April 1 effective date

The Crest Hill City Council voted to amend Title 13 of the City Code governing water and sewer connections, replacing prior references to “tap-on fees” with a single, consistent term: “equitable connection charge.” The ordinance passed on the council floor and members later approved an amendment setting the ordinance’s effective date as April 1, 2025.

City Engineer Ryan Weideman introduced the ordinance and explained the change is meant to clean up inconsistent terminology in the code. He told the council the measure had been discussed at a January workshop. The clerk and staff identified that the draft ordinance did not include an effective date; the council amended the approved ordinance on the floor to insert an April 1, 2025 effective date.

The council passed the ordinance (identified in the meeting as Ordinance 2013) and then voted on the amended motion to make the ordinance effective 04/01/2025. Council recorded the roll-call votes and the clerk announced the motion carried.

The ordinance language standardizes billing and connection terminology across Chapter 13—references in the transcript indicate the phrase “equitable connection charge” will replace older terms including “tap-on” and “connection fee.” No changes to dollar amounts or fee formulas were read into the record at the meeting; staff indicated April 1 as the planned effective date during the session.