Politics
Yorkville City Council Passes Stormwater Fee Ordinance, Residents Face New Charges from January 2027
Yorkville property owners will see an average annual stormwater management fee of $95 added to utility bills starting in the first quarter of 2027 following the council's 5-2 vote on July 7.
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Yorkville City Council approved a new stormwater management fee ordinance during its regular meeting on July 7, establishing a tiered charge on residential and commercial properties to fund drainage upgrades. The measure takes effect January 1, 2027, with the first bills mailed in February.
The ordinance responds to repeated flooding incidents documented in the city's 2025 engineering assessment, which recorded 47 properties damaged during spring rains. Council members cited the need to update aging pipes installed before 1990 in the downtown grid and along the riverfront corridor.
Local Service Changes
Residents in the 12-block area bounded by Main Street and the river will notice construction crews beginning pipe replacement work in March 2027, with crews working weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Single-family homes will pay a flat $95 yearly fee while multi-unit buildings will be assessed $65 per unit. Commercial parcels face rates scaled to lot size, with the largest downtown sites paying up to $420.
The city budget document projects the fee will generate $2.8 million in its first year, allocated to 3.2 miles of new storm drains and two retention basins near the high school athletic fields. Property owners who install approved rain gardens can apply for a $25 annual credit beginning in 2028.
Payment and Construction Schedule
Utility bills will itemize the new fee separately from water and sewer charges, with payments due on the same quarterly schedule already used by the finance department. The public works department has scheduled public information sessions at the community center on October 15 and November 12 to explain credit applications and construction detours.
City records show the fee structure mirrors a similar program adopted by neighboring jurisdictions in 2024, where collections began one year after council approval. Yorkville officials expect the first basin excavation to finish by September 2027 and full drain replacement to conclude in late 2028.