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County officials tell Beachwood council sanitary fund is in deficit and urge doubling the per‑foot fee
Summary
Cuyahoga County public-works officials told the Beachwood City Council that the city’s sanitary account has run an operating deficit for about a decade and recommended raising the current $1.50 per linear‑foot sanitary fee (collected twice yearly) toward the regional average (about $3) so the county can resume required five‑year cleaning cycles and meet Ohio EPA expectations.
Michael Deaver, director of public works for Cuyahoga County, told the Beachwood City Council on April 6 that the city’s sanitary account has been operating at a deficit for roughly 10 years and that the county is recommending a substantial rate increase so it can restore preventative maintenance.
The county’s full‑service maintenance agreement with Beachwood dates to 2002. Under that agreement the county performs jetting, closed‑circuit televising (CCTV), pump‑station maintenance and emergency “house calls” for the city. Deaver said the county currently conducts far more call‑out and emergency work than planned preventative cycles and that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires sanitary collection systems be cleaned and televised at least once every five years.
“Right now, we’re not able to meet the Ohio EPA standard, which is every five years the entire system is cleaned, because there’s not enough funding,” Deaver said. He told council the current sanitary assessment in Beachwood is $1.50 per linear foot, collected twice a year on the tax duplicate, and recommended moving the fee toward the local average of about $3 per linear foot to restore the five‑year cleaning cycle.
County finance officer Melanie Se summarized recent activity and work orders from 2025 to illustrate demand on the system: a small number of house calls, roughly 15 CCTV televising work orders, 65+ construction work orders requiring excavation, about 70 pump‑station responses and 81 jet‑vac work orders. Deaver said the county has kept providing services despite the operating deficit but that preventive cleaning—planned 1/5th of the system each year under a full‑service arrangement—has lapsed and been replaced by reactive responses.
Council members pressed for specific records. Councilmember Isaacson asked when rates were last set; Deaver answered that the $1.50 linear‑foot rate has not been changed since the original 2002 agreement. Isaacson and others requested a clear report of maintenance and CCTV work over the last decade; Deaver agreed to provide a decade‑long report showing what work the county performed and what the city has done internally.
Staff and council discussed mechanics and timing if the city decides to change the fee. Deaver said a rate adjustment would be proposed to the city and must be processed in time for the county tax duplicate (he said an adjustment typically needs to be made before June 1 and would go to county council for placement on the tax duplicate later in the summer). Council members asked about the authority to set rates; Deaver said the 2002 agreement and subsequent county practice set the structure, but any change would return to Beachwood council and then county council for approval.
Deaver and city staff emphasized distinctions between accounts: Beachwood’s sanitary fund is running a deficit while the storm fund currently shows a surplus; the city can reallocate parts of the linear‑foot charge between sanitary and storm accounts on an annual basis, a practice used in recent years to mitigate the shortfall.
On enforcement risk, county staff said Ohio EPA intervention typically follows repeated sanitary sewer overflows or other significant events; consequences can include fines or corrective projects, depending on the investigation and findings.
The county stressed it is in the process of updating the 2002 agreement with Beachwood’s law department and engineering staff. The presentation closed with Mayor Burns noting the city has invested heavily in sewer repairs and replacements in recent years—she cited about $9 million in work over four to five years, roughly half reimbursed by the regional sewer district—and county staff agreed to provide the requested detail on a 10‑year maintenance history.
Next steps: county staff will provide the 10‑year maintenance report and a clearer fiscal breakdown for Beachwood’s sanitary and storm accounts to inform council consideration of any rate adjustment and the updated intergovernmental agreement.
