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Residents urge higher sewer tap fees as staff outlines capacity upgrades and capital fund plan
Summary
Public commenters urged raising Centerburg's $5,000 sewer tech fee to better match neighboring jurisdictions; staff cited potential short‑term plant upgrades to add capacity and proposed creating a segregated capital improvement fund for future expansion.
During the public hearing on planned‑development code changes, a resident urged the council to raise the village's sewer tech fee, citing examples: Galena ($9,500), Sunbury ($8,100) and Johnstown ($7,400). "When you wanna talk about financing the floor plan, you need to at least raise your fee now by $2,000," the commenter said, arguing Centerburg's current fee is below market and could limit commercial development if capacity is not managed.
Village staff responded with technical and financial context. An engineer working on the sewer account plan told staff the village could pursue upgrades that might buy roughly 50% additional capacity without a full plant expansion. Staff said that at current capacity (about 350 homes) the village could collect about $1,750,000 in cap fees quickly; at a $9,500 per‑tap rate that number could approach $3,000,000. To ensure money is used for major capital improvements, staff proposed creating a segregated capital improvement fund rather than placing proceeds into general operating revenue.
No fee change was adopted at the meeting; the record shows discussion and a staff commitment to return with implementation and fund‑segregation language and to circulate engineering reports when available.
