Dan Horn

dhorn@enquirer.com

Homeowners and businesses might have to pay a new fee for parking lots and other “impervious surfaces” if Hamilton County commissioners approve a new plan to make sewer rates fairer and more affordable.

The proposal from the Hamilton County Rate Affordability Task Force is one of several pitched Monday to commissioners, who are looking for ways to rein in soaring sewer rates.

The task force said the fee for impervious surfaces could make rates fairer by charging more to homes and businesses that allow large amounts of stormwater to flow from those surfaces into the sewer system.

The suggested fee would be $3.22 for every 2,000 square feet of impervious surface.

The task force also suggested tweaking the way all sewer charges are assessed, adopting a monthly billing system and creating a financial assistance program for sewer customers struggling to pay their bills.

The task force presented their recommendations Monday and commissioners said they will study them all before deciding which, if any, to accept.

Commissioners said the goal is to figure out what they can do to make sewer rates more equitable and less onerous for sewer customers, whose annual bills have risen from an average of $250 to $1,000 in the past decade.

More than 16,500 of the Metropolitan Sewer District’s 800,000 customers are delinquent in paying their bills, according to the task force.

“This is going to start a conversation that should have taken place long ago,” said Commissioner Dennis Deters.

Commissioner Chris Monzel said the task force came up with ideas that will help the commissioners make tough choices going forward. But he stopped short of endorsing any of them Monday, including the impervious surface fee, which would likely hit businesses harder than homeowners.

"We don't want to make it difficult for people to do business in Hamilton County, but, at the same time, we want to make it fair," Monzel said.

The task force had 17 members drawn from across Hamilton County, including corporate leaders, city and township officials, environmental activists, lawyers, and others.

In addition to the proposed fee for impervious surfaces, the task force suggested:

Shifting from a quarterly to a monthly billing system. The hope is that such a change would give cash-strapped families more flexibility by breaking up their payments, and would help residents catch mistakes in their bills sooner.

Adjusting the way sewer charges are calculated to benefit lower-income customers.

Creating an emergency assistance program that would help those 16,500 struggling customers, either by providing direct financial assistance or giving them a discount on their bills.

The task force acknowledged that every proposal comes with a downside – slightly higher costs for some customers, for instance – but said the goal is to create a fair and affordable system.

It noted, for example, that Hamilton County’s rates are the highest in Ohio, but it is the only one of the state’s most populous county’s not to have a financial assistance program.

"We have more work to do," Commissioner Todd Portune said of the task force report. "There's a lot we can and should do."

Dan Dressman, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati, said his group has not seen the proposal and couldn't comment on its potential economic impact. "We'll take a look at it," he said.

City Councilman Charlie Winburn, who leads the Renew Community Church in Cincinnati, said he's against the proposed fee and hopes the commissioners would include an exemption for non-profits if they sign off on it. "I adamantly oppose the county commissioners using a fee to create what is essentially a new tax," Winburn said.

The task force also cited findings about MSD operations that were revealed in Enquirer articles, which prompted a city and state audit of MSD spending practices. The group recommended that commissioners hold off on any rate increases until those audits are complete and any problems have been corrected.

All three commissioners voted earlier this year to wait at least until this summer to consider an increase.

The main driver of higher rates is a $3 billion, court-ordered overhaul of the county’s sewers.

The work has been complicated by continuing spats between the city of Cincinnati, which runs MSD, and the county, which oversees its budget.