JANESVILLE — The Darien Village Board on Tuesday night failed to decide how it will cover a projected $100,000 shortage in sewer revenues in 2009.
A proposal to increase sewer rates about 25 percent failed in a tie vote, board President Bob Metzner said.
The village projects it will be $100,000 short next year to pay the Walworth County Metropolitan Sewer District. The board will convene again as soon as possible to take action on a possible solution, he said.
Village auditor Pat Romanesko told the board in December that the village will "go broke" if it doesn't come up with an option to increase sewer revenues.
The problem is the village's aging sewer system is letting groundwater seep in. Therefore, the village sewer utility is paying WalCoMet to treat rainwater and groundwater.
Village wells pump about 130,000 gallons of drinking water per day, but about 170,000 gallons of wastewater are ending up at WalCoMet, said Greg Epping, village superintendent of public works.
WalCoMet serves 10 entities, including Darien, Delavan and Elkhorn, Administrator Gary Gagnon said. Gagnon has never known a municipality to fail to pay its sewer bill since 2001 when he started working for the district. If Darien—or any municipality, for that matter—failed to pay, Gagnon would take the issue to the district board, he said. The board would decide how to proceed.
Village Administrator Marc Dennison on Tuesday gave the board a list of "broad-stroke" options to cover the revenue shortage.
Some options, other than raising sewer rates:
-- Pulling money from the general fund. That option is a "non-starter," Dennison said, because the money in that fund, the village's savings account, already is spoken for.
-- Cutting the village's operating budget.
-- Borrowing from the tax incremental financing fund. That would be a one-time option, Dennison said. It would not fix the problem and could mean an even bigger rate jump in the future.
-- Increasing connection fees. This would depend on growth, and it is not likely the village would see enough development to cover the $100,000 projected shortage.