Board approves stormwater budget and forwards proposed fee increase for council action

The Water Resources Board on May 27 approved the stormwater FY 2026 budget and a resolution to increase the residential stormwater fee to $3.50 per month, a 25¢ increase that staff said will be adopted by council following required advertisement and public notice.

Staff presented a stormwater budget showing about $4.15 million in total revenues and expenses; stormwater fee revenue is roughly $3.9 million of that total. The proposed fee increase is expected to generate an additional $340,000 in FY 2026 and roughly $350,000 in FY 2027 to support a five-year capital-improvement plan that includes three large projects: Town Creek daylighting, Mall Circle drainage improvements near the mall, and parking improvements at O'Fallon Park ballpark. Staff noted next year’s spending will dip below the department’s typical $800,000 operating-reserve target because of these one-time projects.

The stormwater presentation also covered program accomplishments: updates to the city code to improve runoff from development sites, routine inspections at active construction sites, tree-planting and stream-cleanup activities, and plans to resume biological sampling and launch a drone program for illicit-discharge detection. Staff said they are under contract with a consultant to study Todd Lake to determine whether the waterbody functions as a wetland or needs active management; ownership of portions of the lake is mixed between the city and private owners.

A motion to approve the stormwater budget and the fee-resolution transmittal passed by voice vote. Staff said the fee resolution requires a 30-day advertisement before council can adopt it; the item will appear at the June 12 workshop to meet that schedule.