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Council okays $100,000 appropriation from water/sewer retained earnings for stormwater study
Summary
The council accepted a committee recommendation to appropriate $100,000 from water/sewer retained earnings to the sewer account to fund a stormwater study, citing equity and regulatory requirements.
The Salem City Council approved on June 26 an appropriation of $100,000 from water/sewer retained earnings to the sewer account to fund a stormwater study.
Councilor Merkel, reporting for the administration and finance committee, said the matter stemmed from equity concerns — ratepayers pay for stormwater runoff — and that recent quotes for the study exceeded prior estimates. "This was discussed in regards to people paying their water sewer bills, and they are paying for stormwater runoff and some conditions, such as parking lots, cause more of this and which causes an equity issue," Councilor Merkel said.
The committee heard from the city engineer, identified in the record as Miss Duhamel, who noted the study will account for properties that already manage runoff and will look at how to appropriately fund regulatory requirements and infrastructure improvements, including EPA testing requirements mentioned in the committee discussion. The committee noted $50,000 was already in the budget from the prior year and recent quotes increased the amount needed to complete the work.
Councilors voted to approve the appropriation; the matter carried on the committee recommendation. The study is intended to inform future funding and regulatory decisions; the council did not specify a timeline for study completion in the meeting record.
