Business
La Crosse council members approve hike in stormwater utility fees, after years of no changes
The city of La Crosse has avoided raising a certain fee for utility work, but the city council has decided the increases can’t be put off any longer.
On Thursday, La Crosse’s city council voted 9-4 to raise the stormwater utility fee, effective on July 1.
City leaders have said the existing cash on hand for the cost of dealing with stormwater and sudden flooding is only enough to cover about two months worth of bills.
The fee is scheduled to rise $5 a month this year and $2 per month in 2026 with increases after that to be based on the rate of inflation.
A proposal to stagger the increase over the next five years was defeated.
The council also voted down a 30-day delay on the increase.
Council member Gary Padesky had suggested a 25 percent increase this year, followed by 10 percent next year, and 5 percent increases for the three years after that.
The city’s finance manager for utilities, Tina Erickson, said the fund to pay for stormwater problems has been sharply depleted in recent years and raising the fee would avoid the need to borrow money for expenses.
Public works director Matt Gallager said a shortage of funding forced the city to remove some projects from the budget this year.
The stormwater utility fee was established in July of 2011.
walden
June 13, 2025 at 11:31 am
This is a stealth tax increase. The City pushed expenses like payroll and $500,000 annual cost of street cleaning from other departments to the Utility, and then claimed the Utility is insolvent and in need of a huge fee increase.
Gamesmanship of the sort the School District would be proud of.
No mention of the additional burden on downtown businesses that are all “under roof” and some have surface parking; causing them to pay higher fees for their vacant storefronts.
Libertarian Guy
June 18, 2025 at 8:26 am
Walden,
these people that find themselves in elected office can only see the small picture that’s right in front of them. That is, they cannot see the big picture. They come to Council meetings with their individual positions already determined. There is no back-and-forth discussion for the most part. When discussion does take place they simply present their own view and don’t consider or factor in the opinions of others on the Council in their response. Put another way, their views are unbending. I have to agree with you as I often do. This is truly a stealth tax increase. I was surprised to learn by watching the Council meeting the number of things they are funding with it and I was reminded that this funding stream previously did not exist. This just further proves that no matter how much money is given to government at the federal, state, county, or city level, or school district, those in power will always, ALWAYS find a way to spend it.
Fiscal responsibility
June 14, 2025 at 2:33 pm
Is anybody surprised that 4 boomers wanted to increase the city’s debt just to keep the rates at 2011 levels? Borrowing money to pay for a bill you know you will have to pay every year is irresponsible and unfair to those who will be alive to pay the interest on the loan.
Libertarian guy
June 18, 2025 at 8:44 am
I am certainly not surprised. Elected leaders at all levels of government, not just baby boomers, think nothing of borrowing money. What would Dave Ramsey do. His catchphrase “debt is dumb and cash is king” says it all. Creating or adding debts only kicks the can down the road so to speak in the interest that is spent is real money obtained from taxes. And you get nothing from paying interest. The federal government has a unique way of printing money which only dilutes the value of existing dollars. Us Libertarians call that a hidden tax. I would also point out that borrowing money is a sneaky way for elected leaders to push through that which they want. Aaron Engel The superintendent of the La Crosse school district is particularly good at that. When he tried to push through his $200 million high school consolidation effort he argued only a small property tax increase was needed. He parsed the numbers in a very creative way to make it sound like a minor inconvenience to property owners. He did the same thing with the $53 million increase to build his new school which was actually approved by residents in the district under threat that teachers will be laid off if it does not pass. He was also able to bring the numbers down by borrowing money over 20+ years and ignored the cost consequences of all that borrowed money. Surprised? Sadly, not at all. I’ve watched this play out 35+ years that I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Libertarian party. The Blue dynasty and the Red dynasty argue back and forth, but both major parties always take more of your money and spend more than they confiscate.
Fiscal responsibility
June 15, 2025 at 7:52 am
I’m tired of boomers increasing the debt AND complaining that the debt is too high. Fiscal responsibility is telling your friends, neighbors, and parents, enough is enough.
#WhatWouldDaveRamseyDo?