Jasper storm rate hike approved, sent to council for consideration

Jasper —  The Jasper Storm Water Management Board approved a $1.96 rate hike for the city’s residents and businesses.

The issue will be sent to the Jasper Common Council for approval and if adopted, it will nearly double the rate for the ratepayers in Jasper.

This is the first rate hike since the rate was established in 2003. Stormwater customers — residential and business — currently pay $2 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). An ERU is 0 to 5,000 square feet of impervious surface . An impervious surface is one that will not absorb water, sending it into the stormwater sewers (e.g. the roofs of residences, driveways, porches, and parking lots).

Faced with $2.5 million in repairs and materials to the aging system, City Engineer Chad Hurm told the board that the city has two options to pay for the repairs, purchasing a bond or increasing the stormwater rate. He recommended the rate increase based on the fact the rate has not been increased since it was first enacted ten years ago — a rate study by H.J. Umbaugh and Associates of Indianapolis recommended the same — and the increase would likely be less costly than taking out a bond for the repairs. A bond could cost the city between $500,000 and $1 million in fees and interest.

The majority of the repairs are due to corroded metal pipes that are collapsing and creating sinkholes and flow problems. The pipes need to be removed and replaced with chemical- and corrosion-resistant high-density polyethylene plastic pipes.

The 2014 stormwater department budget included $425,000 to start preliminary work on the projects and $125,000 to begin purchasing material for the projects that can completed by the street department. The rate increase will then accumulate to begin to fund the other projects scheduled to be completed over the next seven years.

Another factor in the rate increase are new unfunded mandates by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for stormwater management. The study conducted by Umbaugh confirmed the current rate will not fund the repairs or the new standards by the EPA.

If approved by the council the new rate will likely take effect in January.