Council Resolutions CR288/2007 and CR64/2015 govern City Council's landowner assessment policy for drainage works. Whereas the majority of Ontario municipalities assess costs in full to the benefitting property owners, City Council has accepted that the costs of drain maintenance be borne within the general municipal tax levy rather than apportioning to the landowners themselves. The policy, as consolidated by both resolutions, reads as follows:

I. City of Windsor CONTINUE to use the general tax levy or the sewer surcharge levy, depending on location for drain maintenance costs in accordance with the City of Windsor Act, 1968:

a. with the exception of private access structures and "special benefit" works benefiting individual properties;, which are to be assessed to the benefiting property owners as per a completed engineer's report and assessment schedule as a "special benefit" in accordance with s. 24 of the Drainage Act;

b. Municipal Drains, excluding access structures will be maintained at the general tax rate or sewer surcharge, depending on location, provided the landowners allow soil from the drains to be spread on their lands, as provided for in the Engineer's Report.

II. That Council APPROVE provision of payment options for property owners, for payment of assessments and special charges as identified in a Drainage Report under the Drainage Act and adopted by by-law, as follows:

Property owners are offered the option to pay the assessments and special charges including HST in a single payment within 30 days of the invoice, or added to property taxes in 10 (ten) equal instalments with interest calculated at prime + 1% per annum established as of the date the drainage cost is determined by the City Treasurer or designate.

In addition, the City's Local Improvement Policy, adopted as CR554/2019, also stipulates a 10-year repayment period:

4.2.7 The abutting property owners may petition for or against a local improvement work. After the Special Charges by-law is passed, the owners are obligated to pay their share of the local improvement charges by lump sum or through their property taxes over 10 years.

Discussion:

Through its adopted policy, City Council has directed that residents abutting municipal drains not be assessed directly for storm water collection service delivered through the drain. Residents continue to be assessed for a portion of work that is of private benefit to them. These are typically for the installation of a bridge to permit a driveway to the public highway, although the cost of this bridge remains shared between the City and the property owner.

Despite its inclusion in the existing Drainage and Local Improvement policies, there is no provincial legislative requirement to set a ten-year repayment period. This determination is within the discretion of City Council. Neither the Drainage Act nor the