The study will look at daily costs of sewage and storm water in Bloomington. (WJBC Photo)

By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council approved a study of city storm and sewage water fees on Monday night.

The study, which will be conducted by Raftelis Financial Consultants, will look at just how much the systems are costing the city on a daily basis. City Manager David Hales said the nearly $77,000 project will benefit the city now, and for years to come.

PODCAST: Listen to Hales' interview with Scott and Colleen on WJBC.

"It's money well spent," Hales said. "Not only to get a foundation of what goes into these kinds of studies, but also to better train our staff to possibly do these kinds of studies in the future."

Hales said the study will be quite simple.

"We just want to look at what the costs are," said Hales. "Hopefully these studies are one way to assess that, and to have some detailed analysis of what all of the options are."

Not all council members were on board with the study. Alderman Kevin Lower said with the possibility of additional fees, residents are getting financially fed up.

"There's a multitude of expenses coming," Lower said. "And I contend that, and I can back this up with a number of my constituents that tell me that it's becoming unaffordable here. As they retire or as they reach a point in life, they may not continue to live here. I don't want to see that."

Lower also said while he is optimistic that the study will benefit the community, he is cautious about the long-term help this brings to Bloomington.

The council also discussed their Citizen's Summit being held on Jan. 20, in which invited residents will speak to council members about funding plans and concerns,

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].