West Lafayette property owners could see new bill in the mail

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - "We want to help make the town a better place. That's part of our responsibility," said Faith Church Pastor Steve Viars.

It's a responsibility West Lafayette property owners may be taking on. City officials announced Wednesday plans to implement a stormwater user fee.

Viars said he doesn't know how much the new Faith West facility will have to pay per month but he's sure it will be reasonable for drainage.

"We didn't come to Faith West to take, we came to give so we'll get it figured out. I'm sure it will be reasonable for everybody," Viars said.

City Engineer Dave Buck agrees. He said residents will pay $8 a month which will cover one Equivalent Residential Unit, or ERU, which equals 3,200 square feet. Any non-residential property will pay $8 for every additional ERU of property.

"If something was 3,200 square feet, it's be one ERU. If it was 32,000 square feet, it'd be ten ERUs," Buck explained.

Buck said the fee shouldn't come as too big of a surprise. He said the city tried to make headway on the fee back in 2009 when the city of Lafayette implemented its fee. The outcome? It just wasn't the right time.

"At that the time, the feedback that the mayor received and that the community gave us, was that now wasn't the time. It was kind of a downturn in the economy," Buck said.

But city officials say now it's the right time because money from other places is being used to pay expenses to the city's storm sewer system.  

The fees could take effect as early as January of 2014.

The first reading of the ordinance is scheduled for Monday. Buck said if the ordinance passes now, it will give the city, the school corporation, churches and other businesses a year to plan and budget so the extra charge will not come as a surprise.