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County briefing on ditch redeterminations prompts New Richland to consider stormwater fund
Summary
County presenter Chris Howard briefed the New Richland council on redeterminations for three county ditches, saying updated benefit values and buffer-strip payments will require about $30,000 in redetermination costs; council discussed establishing a stormwater fund or spreading assessments to ratepayers ahead of a Sept. 20 final hearing.
Chris Howard, the county presenter at the Sept. 9 meeting, gave a detailed overview of the joint county ditch final hearing for County Ditch 32, Joint County Ditch 6 and County Ditch 47. Howard said the redetermination process updates historic benefit values that determine how much each parcel in a drainage system is assessed when work is needed; because original valuations date to the 1970s, inflation has greatly increased the current dollar value of those benefits.
Howard told the council that estimated redetermination and buffer‑strip acquisition costs across the three systems would be roughly $30,000 and explained that the drainage authority may levy up to 20% of a system's benefit value to raise needed funds. He gave an example that a 20% levy against the city's current benefit share could, in a worst‑case presentation example, amount to approximately $100,000 for the city if the maximum assessment were applied.
Council members raised concerns about fairness and timing. One member said they could not understand assessing a residential property owner for recurring flood impacts and asked whether the city could spread costs through a city stormwater fund. Staff and Howard discussed options used elsewhere: Jamesville was cited as creating a stormwater capital fund and charging roughly $13 per month on utility bills; council members suggested a local option (for example, a $5 monthly utility surcharge) that could raise roughly $30,000 annually to cover redetermination costs or assessments.
Howard emphasized the final hearing's purpose: the Sept. 20 final hearing is where the drainage authority adopts findings and the new benefit roll; the county will try to answer questions before that hearing to avoid rescheduling the proceeding and adding costs. Council asked city staff to prepare a proposal to establish a stormwater/storm sewer fund (a simple council resolution can create the fund) and to explore funding options and utility surcharge scenarios for consideration at a future meeting.
Next steps: the county final hearing date was noted for Sept. 20, 2024. City staff will prepare options for creating a stormwater fund and possible funding mechanisms to present at the next council meeting.
