McCullom Lake board weighs new tactics to collect $43,000 in overdue sewer bills

The McCullom Lake Village Board on Oct. 28 discussed new measures to force payment of long-standing sewer bills, directing staff to pursue legal remedies and continued enforcement options.

President Terry Counley said the Village is owed for multiple delinquent accounts and described the next steps the board is considering. “There’s fifteen (15) homeowners that owe this Village forty three thousand dollars in back sewer fees,” he said. Deputy Clerk Prehn and President Counley explained operational enforcement ideas, including entering private cleanouts, inflating a device (referred to in the meeting as a "balloon") and securing a locking cap so an inflow stoppage would trigger health-department notification and fines.

Trustee Vick pressed for stronger enforcement authority, saying the inability to shut off sewer service left the Village with limited leverage over large delinquencies. The board said it already has an ordinance and has compiled a list of the five worst offenders that was forwarded to the Village attorney for potential circuit court action. Trustee Zakrocky asked whether these plans had been reviewed by counsel; Deputy Clerk Prehn and President Counley said yes.

Officials noted practical and legal constraints: the previously contracted vendor would not perform the "balloon" procedure due to liability, so staff are seeking smaller devices and a suitable locking cap. The board also discussed the county's role in physical disconnections and estimated that disconnecting and later reconnecting service would cost a resident roughly $10,000.

The board did not vote on new authority at the meeting but agreed to continue pursuing enforcement, court remedies for the worst accounts and follow-up work to locate appropriate equipment and locking caps.