Windsor city councillor calls for non-profits to be exempt from new stormwater fee

A storm sewer is seen in this generic photo. (Source: Getty Images)

A Windsor city councillor is asking administration to exempt non-profit organizations from having to pay for a new stormwater fee going into effect next year.

Starting in January 2025, existing sewer surcharges will be split into two categories: a fee based on water consumption and a separate stormwater fee "based on the amount of impervious surface area on a property," according to a report presented to council Monday.

Impervious surfaces refer to those which prevent rain from soaking into the ground, such as parking lots.

"Effectively, it's a new process whereby those who generate more stormwater will be paying more of the bill," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

"So imagine a company like Walmart with a big parking lot generating more stormwater into the sewer system. They are going to pay more of the bill and provide more of the funding."

According to the City of Windsor's Executive Director of Engineering Stacey McGuire, schools would be exempt from having to pay the stormwater fee.

"The only properties that will be exempt from the fee would be the school boards," said McGuire. “They're exempted through the Education Act. Other than that, we're applying this across the board."

According to administration, the stormwater fee is meant to serve as a more "fair and equitable approach" of charging residents based on their stormwater footprint.

Coun. Renaldo Agostino said he would like to see non-profit organizations exempted from the fee as well.

"For example, the Downtown Mission has a big footprint," said Agostino, before he posed his own question. 

"How are those conversations going with the non-profits that typically don't have the extra funds to be able to pay a substantial increase like that?" he asked.

In response, McGuire said there were non-profit organizations that were "not part of our advisory committee."

"However, we are moving towards an open house in May of this year. That's what we're planning for,” he said. “So we can definitely make sure that invitations go out to those non-profits so that they can be involved in the conversation."

In June 2023, city council approved postponing the launch of the stormwater fee to the start of 2025 in order to perform additional public outreach and education activities.