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Village board seeks PSC approval for $1,000 water connection fee and clarifies utilities ordinances
Summary
At its Aug. 4 meeting the Village Board of Bloomington voted unanimously to apply to the Public Service Commission for a $1,000 water system connection fee and agreed to several edits to its water and sewer ordinances, including defining ownership at the curb stop and standardizing penalty charges.
At its Aug. 4, 2025 regular meeting the Village Board of Bloomington voted unanimously to apply to the Public Service Commission for approval of a $1,000 water system connection fee and approved several clarifications to the village's utilities ordinances.
The motion to apply to the Public Service Commission was made by Alan Mergen and seconded by Dennis Moris and carried with all present members voting in favor. President Robert McLimans told the Board the village's previous $500 connection fee had been disallowed by the Public Service Commission and refunded to a resident; the Board discussed options before voting to seek approval for the higher fee.
During a review prompted by questions from Logan Hoffman of Delta 3, the Board agreed to combine ordinance sections 1102 and 1106 and clarified that ownership of water service transfers at the curb stop (Keith Leitzinger confirmed curb-stop ownership). The Board also resolved inconsistencies in penalty language by adopting a $10-per-day penalty for illegal use of the sewage system (equivalent to $3,650 per year) in place of the earlier month-based structure. On sewer lateral ownership the Board, following input from Mark Digman, agreed residents' ownership should extend to the right of way unless the sewer main is located outside the right of way. The Board decided to retain user charges by classification rather than convert to residential equivalent users and to continue allowing garbage disposals and drains, noting grease problems more often originate with businesses.
Board members requested that the village publish water and sewer rates and related charges on the village website so residents can see the fees that will take effect in the third quarter. The application to the Public Service Commission is intended to provide the regulatory authorization necessary before the village imposes the new connection charge.
Next steps: the village will file the application with the Public Service Commission and post updated rates and charge schedules online; the Board did not set an effective date for the $1,000 fee pending PSC approval.
