City council is considering a stormwater management utility ordinance that will cost most Oakwood homeowners $6 per month, or a total of $72 per year if approved during their Nov. 5 meeting.

The ordinance would take effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The city would collect an estimated $300,000 in new annual revenue if approved.

The measure is one of several new fees, tax proposals, budget and staff cuts Oakwood will seek to address a looming $3 million annual budget shortfall caused primarily by the repeal of Ohio’s estate tax and reductions in allocations from the state’s local government fund.

City Manager Norbert Klopsch said specifics of the overall plan will be shared with residents starting late next week.

The stormwater fee, which would be added as a new line item on city water, sewer and refuse bills would add no additional administrative expense and “would be 10 percent of the solution for our financial problem,” he said.

Dayton and a few other area municipalities have had similar utilities for more than a decade. Others, including Fairborn and Riverside, are considering adding them.

“They’re cropping up everywhere. We’re all losing money,” Klopsch said.

Montgomery County officials have encouraged informal discussions about forming a regional utility similar to one in northeastern Ohio, but Klopsch said that “wouldn’t make sense in Oakwood because Montgomery County doesn’t maintain our stormwater management system. The city does.”

Under the ordinance, commercial properties in the city would be billed at a rate based on the impervious area of the property. The category would include multi-family residences with four or more units.

The city has approximately 50 business properties and 3,800 residential units. About 3,600 of them are single-family homes.

The largest commercial property in terms of footage is the Sugar Camp office complex off West Schantz Avenue.

“Every property will be treated equally,” Klopsch said. “The utility would be a stand-alone entity. Every penny collected will go to support the stormwater system. It can’t be used for anything else.”

Fees were set based on annual costs to maintain Oakwood’s storm sewer system, which includes inlets, hundreds of catch basins, manholes, piping, underground culverts and outfalls.

Klopsch said that although most parts of the system are 75 to 100 years old, there are no glaring deficiencies due to ongoing maintenance.

“Until now, that’s been paid for from the general fund,” he said.