CHAMPAIGN – The city council this week could approve a 3 percent increase to the sanitary sewer fee, which would ultimately cost an average single-family homeowner $2 more per year to flush dirty water.

The council is schedule to vote on the increase when it meets on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Champaign City Building, 102 N. Neil St.

Like many areas in the city budget, which has seen what amounts to a historic strain during the past few years, the costs of maintaining city sewers have gone up where revenues have decreased or remained flat, said city Finance Director Richard Schnuer.

At its current rate, about $69 annually for an average homeowner, the fee raises about $2 million to pay for cleaning, clearing and repairing sanitary sewers in the city's jurisdiction. Homeowners pay $2.77 per 100 cubic feet of average daily water use.

The proposed fee of $2.85 is a 3 percent increase and would raise an additional $60,000 annually for sewer maintenance. It would also raise the annual payment by homeowners to $71.

Schnuer said there are more sewers to maintain as the city's sewer system expands to developing areas, and staff costs have gone up in the form of pay increases. Residents have also taken advantage of a program for which the city covers part of the cost of private residents to install an overhead sewer system, which prevents sanitary backups into homes.

At the same time, water use seems to have decreased, which Schnuer speculated is due to residents' attempts to save money on their water bills. Because the fee is based on how much water residents use, city income has dropped with it.

Because the maintenance itself is more closely tied to the age and expanse of the sewers, however, costs do not go down with decreased water use, Schnuer said.

"If costs go up, and we can't moderate them, the only way to maintain the level of service is a fee increase," Schnuer said.

In other business, the council is expected to take final action to extend the 24-year-old East University Avenue tax increment financing district for another 12 years. The special taxing program allows the city reinvest in economic development incentives and infrastructure improvements with property tax revenue that otherwise would have gone into the budgets of separate taxing districts, like the school and park districts.

All but one member of the city council have consistently supported the extension during the past several months. Gordy Hulten has said the East University Avenue area has a track record of not meeting the goals city planners have set for it.