Silver Lake looking at storm water utility
The city of Silver Lake has been looking at establishing a storm water utility over the last several months.
The money collected from the utility would create a storm water fund that would be used for repairs and future improvements on the city’s storm water system.
Currently, the storm water system maintenance is paid for out of the general fund through the tax levy. However, some of the largest users of the system, including the school, churches and city facilities are tax exempt, and therefore not contributing to the general fund.
By establishing the utility, all users would contribute.
The City Council, at its Jan. 17 meeting, considered a basic system rate of $2 and each property will be given a residential equivalent factor (REF).
A single family residential property would be given a REF of one, which would be a $2 monthly charge. Apartment buildings will have a REF of .25 per unit and a four-plex will have a REF of .5 per unit.