Decorah is one step closer to having a stormwater utility

The Decorah City Council gave its unanimous approval Monday night to the second reading of an ordinance which would establish a stormwater utility in the community.

In the process, City Administrator Chad Bird disclosed new details of the proposed utility.  Residential property owners would be charged $3.00 a month to help support the utility, with small business property owners getting charged $5.00 a month; large business property owners getting charged $10.00 a month and industrial property owners getting charged $20.00 a month.

The charges would be added to the water bills of existing utility customers, or new invoices would be created for those who are not water customers.

The money collected could be used for a variety of projects, including stormwater abatement projects and maintenance of Decorah's dike system.