A Reserve Capacity Fee (RCF) has been established to compensate the rate payers of the Suamico Sewer and Water Utility for its investment in sufficient infrastructure to handle the future needs of the village. This fee, paid by property owners in the village who are currently using on-site systems, replaces the former connection fee paid to the sewer utility when new homes and or services are connected to the village’s current system.

For sewer, if you live in the Velp Interceptor area, your RCF is $2,873 and if you live in the Belmont Interceptor area your RCF is $858. A map of the various interceptor areas is available in the village offices. For water the RCF is $1,767 no matter where you live. The reserve capacity fee is equal to the impact fee and is applicable to all existing homes that hook-up to the village’s utilities.

A one time discount exists for resident of the former sanitary district in consideration of past taxes paid by on-site system owners. The one time opportunity to pre-pay the reserve capacity fee is good through 6/30/06. The discounted fee for the Velp Interceptor is $1,259, the Belmont Interceptor is $858 and the water fee, $1,323.

Yes, beginning in 2006, on or about April of each year, the village board has pledged to review the impact fees and adjust them based on the percentage increase in the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index (ENR) from the previous calendar year to the current calendar year. In the event that there is a decrease in the ENR Construction Cost Index, the Impact Fee will remain the same.

The fix charge on your sewer bill for capital debt covers the costs associated with the mandated replacement of the sewage treatment plant. The plant replacement was accomplished through the construction of a interceptor pipe designed to bring the village’s sewage to the Green Bay Metropolitan Sanitary District for Treatment. This construction was deemed to be more cost effective for the village utility than plant replacement.

The village board passed the ordinance to change the sewer utility rate on August 30, 2004. Those individuals with household water utility meters pay a flat fee of $82 per quarter plus $3.14 per thousand gallons of wastewater sent to the treatment facility. Un-metered users (those who are serviced by sewer but do not have municipal water) pay $126 per quarter based on a flat fee of $82 for debt plus $3.14 per thousand on an estimated usage of 14,000 gallons per quarter.

The debt payment collected through impact fees goes to pay off the debt incurred though the oversized construction of sewer and water pipes in excess of the size needed to serve the existing Village of Suamico utility users. In addition, a portion of the water impact fee also helps to offset the costs of construction of the village water tower which was sized to accommodate future growth.

In essence, the village residents are making debt payments on the common infrastructure (lift stations and interceptor mains) needed to accommodate their existing sewage needs and common infrastructure (water tower, transmission and distribution mains, etc) needed to deliver water to their homes.

Special assessments are a means of collecting costs associated with the installation of water and sewer mains to the home of any property owner in the village. The pipes that are installed in front of a person’s property to collect the sewage and deliver it to an interceptor pipe are assessed based on property front footage (the linear foot cost of the project times the front footage of a parcel). Any oversizing of pipe on any project to be assessed, above a 12" for sewer pipe and 8 " for a water main, is paid for by the village utility as a whole through the collection of impact and reserve capacity fees and not the property owner.