A report going before Windsor's city council is looking to make storm management fees more "equitable."
The Stormwater Financing Project has been in the works for more than a year and looks at how charges for wastewater used to fund improvements can be more effectively distributed.
According to the report, the city's current approach doesn't fairly distribute costs between residential and non-residential properties, so "residential properties are effectively subsidizing non-residential properties."
Ward 4 Councillor Chris Holt says the report looks at the amount of hard surfaces on a property to determine fees as well.
"The more hard surfaces, the more water is diverted to our storm water system," he says. "That's what gets overflowed and ends up backing up into our basements."
If approved, Holt thinks the opportunity to lower fees will motivate property owners.
"Incentivize not paving as much property and keep more and more water out of the storm sewer," he says.
Holt believes the plan makes sense.
"It's a great way for this city council to actually reconsider the way we move forward with things; hopefully in a more equitable way," added Holt.
If approved, new rules would be phased in over the next five years.
Council gets underway Monday at 10:30 a.m.
With files from Rob Hindi