Board authorizes pilot to shift public‑right‑of‑way costs for noncompliant water and sewer laterals, refers broader policy

The La Crosse Board of Public Works on Oct. 6 approved a pilot program to change how the city addresses noncompliant water and sewer laterals, allowing the utility and engineering staff to obtain bids and pay upfront for work in the public right of way while assessing property owners over time.

Tina, a utilities staff member presenting the proposal, said the change would keep owners responsible for private plumbing work but shift the immediate cost of excavation, piping and street replacement in the right of way to the utility. "The property owners then would still be responsible for any plumbing work done on their private property, but then anything done in the public right of way, the excavation, the piping installed and the replacement of the street prepayment would all be paid for by the utilities upfront," she said. Staff proposed that assessed owners would be allowed up to 15 years to pay a portion of the public‑right‑of‑way cost.

Staff framed the proposal as an extension of practices the city has used on prior projects to avoid repeated excavation of expensive streets. The presentation said the utilities digitized their water records in 2024 but that sewer laterals remain private and cannot be fully inventoried from city records; staff estimated the pilot process would take roughly three to six months from initial assessment to final billing. The item presented for board action would use the proposed approach for four currently required correction cases so staff could evaluate coordination, cost allocation and assessment procedures before recommending broader implementation.

Council Member Goggin objected to taking action at the meeting, saying the board had received "9 pages of homework about 2 minutes before the meeting, so I'm not comfortable taking any possible action on anything today." Director Gallagher responded that although broader policy changes should be reviewed, the four cases were active and needed resolution now; Gallagher moved to refer long‑term policy decisions for two weeks while approving the pilot approach for the four properties, and Council President Dickinson seconded the motion. The board voted to approve the pilot and the two‑week referral unanimously.

The board asked staff to return with findings and a recommendation after the pilot to inform any permanent policy changes. The motion included no change to the city’s existing rule that properties must be corrected at sale, upon failure, or when public works require reconstruction; the pilot alters only the process by which public‑right‑of‑way costs are procured and assessed.