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Government

Fee Hikes for Rock Island ?

Some fees paid by residents of Rock Island may go up soon. Monday night the council will consider recommendations by city staff to raise the sewer and stormwater fees.

Interim Public Works Director Mike Bartels says the new revenue will help Rock Island prevent the sewers from overflowing during heavy rainstorms.

"At times when we had these massive 3 to 4 inch rains, we would be dischargning sewer into the Mississippi River. Over time the EPA came down and said you're no longer allowed to do that and you need to come up with a plan to correct that. 

His proposal is to raise the sewer fee by 3 per cent, which works out to an increase for the average homeowner of  $1.56 per month.

Bartels also proposes raising the stormwater fee by 2 per cent, equal to an increase of about 8-cents per month in Rock Island.

The fee is based on the size of a person's property, and the size of the impervious area, meaning roofs and parking lots that would cause storm water to run off instead of soaking into the ground.
The storm water fee also pays for street cleaning, rain gardens, and maintaining the Mississippi River levy.

If approved, this would be the third, 3 per cent increase in a row for the sewer fee, while it would be the first increase since 2011 for the storm water fee. 

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A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.