Milwaukee City Council Work Session on Transportation SDCs, Utility Code Update, and Leadership Academy – September 16, 2025
Milwaukee City Council Work Session – September 16, 2025
The council held a work session covering three major topics: an update on transportation system development charges (SDCs), proposed amendments to the utility code, and a report on the Milwaukee Leadership Academy. No formal votes were taken; the session was informational and directive.
Discussion Items
Transportation System Development Charges (SDCs)
- Peter and John from FCSG presented an overview of SDC methodology, focusing on transportation. They explained the two components: reimbursement fee (buy-in to existing capacity) and improvement fee (future growth projects). The calculation uses a denominator of growth in peak hour person trips, derived from the city's 2018 Transportation System Plan (TSP) and national trip generation factors.
- Key statistics: Current SDC for a single-family residence is $2,470; the legally defensible maximum calculated is $3,982 (based on a combined CIP/TSP list). The improvement cost basis is $5.5 million, reimbursement cost basis $611,000, and total cost basis $6.18 million. Growth is projected at 2,300 PM peak hour person trip ends (converted from vehicle trips using a factor of 1.58).
- Council members asked about measuring unused capacity, inclusion of bike/pedestrian projects, and the effect of the city's climate action plan. Staff noted that the TSP update (expected December 2025) will revise project lists and assumptions.
- A comparison of regional SDCs showed Milwaukee at the bottom, even with the maximum charge. Staff discussed scaling options (by dwelling unit size, proximity to transit) and recommended that any discounts for affordable housing be backfilled to avoid undermining the SDC fund.
Utility Code Update
- Finance Director Mike Horn and Peter proposed four clarifications: (1) ownership of service lines – city responsibility from main to meter, property owner from meter to house; (2) temporary water use limited to construction, not general uses like pool filling; (3) leak responsibility based on meter side; (4) flexibility in shutoff dates (currently third Thursday of month) to allow a seven-day window and discretion for the finance director and city manager to avoid holidays or extreme weather.
- Council discussed the need for code updates to reflect current operations (e.g., no separate sinking fund, utility bill includes multiple fees). Staff noted that 24 accounts (mostly in Island Station) do not receive city water but still pay public safety and other fees via a separate utility bill. The city is considering future enforcement mechanisms for non-water utility fees.
- Council directed staff to proceed with drafting code amendments based on the discussed concepts for a future reading.
Milwaukee Leadership Academy
- Events and Volunteer Coordinator Dan Paris reported on the 2024-2025 cohort. The academy, facilitated by community member Seth Lashbrook, educates residents on city government. 33 people registered (over capacity), 16 completed more than half of the sessions. There was a drop-off after the November 2024 election. Classes are held third Wednesdays, October through June, with three field trips. The program has produced graduates who serve on boards and commissions.
- Council commended the program and noted the increase in board applications this spring, possibly linked to national election engagement.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken. Council directed staff to:
- Bring back a draft utility code update reflecting the proposed changes and additional cleanup (e.g., removing references to outdated boards, consolidating fees to the fee schedule).
- Continue work on transportation SDC analysis, incorporating the upcoming TSP adoption, and consider options for scaling SDCs by unit size, transit proximity, and backfilling any discounts.
- The leadership academy will proceed with the 2025-2026 cohort starting in October 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we are on the air for our September sixteenth work session. And we start with a system, I understand it's kind of C C's one oh one. And then specifically talk about transportation. It's been a while since we've talked about STCs when we have some new first. And then we'll dig into preliminary analysis that we've done on other transportation essences. So some things that uh that are important to remember about system development charges, these are the one-time fees paid at the time of development by new development. Sometimes redevelopment pays them when they intensify their use of the systems, but generally imposed on new development planning, um, the law divides or system development charge for water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, and parks. So we've talked with you before about water and wastewater, actually, parks a few years ago. Um, and now we're talking about transportation SDCs. Um SPCs are for capital only, so you can only spend the money on capital projects. We calculate them based on cost of infrastructure that's already been built and the cost of planned infrastructure. So all about capital with one tiny exception, which we'll we'll talk about a little later. Um I I sort of alluded to it. There are two fees to a system development charge. One is called the reimbursement fee. That is a buy-in to existing infrastructure. So anything that's been built, maybe overbuilt, so there's capacity available to future users. That's the basis of the reimbursement fee. Is future looking, and that's called the improvement fee. So the think of the list of capital projects that are planned for construction. Um that's the basis for the improvement deal. We'll talk a little bit in detail about that. Over those in a moment. Um, lastly, of these key characteristics of STCs are they're intended to represent a share of system capacity. So the big stuff, right? Not the water meter or the ingress and egress to your property if it's transportation care of the public system. So the uh the law is really good in my opinion. We work with STC and in fact the law around the region, or STC law is really good, gives us a recipe for what we have to consider and calculating the charges, how to spend the money, what has to be on the list, the rules and considerations are in there. Um it's ORS 223.297 through 316. And just to give you a little bit of the flavor of the different sections, we won't go through these in any detail, but um the real meat of the ORS uh sections as they pertain to system development charge, the role meets in 223.304. That's the one that tells us what we have to consider when we calculate the reimbursement fee, what we have to consider when we calculate the improvement fee. Um it has a requirement that you provide as a city to provide credits to developers who build a project off the list as a condition of development. You got the credit against their SDC, that languages in 304, also noticing requirements, and we'll come back to this in the next steps. But um, any city has to provide 90 days notice before the public hearing at which they act upon a new system development charge. So you know, we'll get done with all our work, arrive at an analysis that you're comfortable with, and then you start the 90-day notice period. Uh the last 60 days of which the report has to be available. So any interested party can come in and scrutinize the work. Um, and uh you won't you will not be surprised as counseling um at that public hearing 90 days uh from advance. So that those notice and requirements are also in 304. Um 309 talks about the requirements of the project list timing cost, etc. So it's all there. Um, not a bad read, actually. I mentioned the two different fees, the reimbursement fee and the improvement fee. This is what this is what the map looks like. That reimbursement fee, what we're what we're trying to isolate is the cost of any unused capacity in the existing system, whichever system it is. We take that dollar amount, divide it by the growth that it will serve, and that gives us our improvement fee on the other hand. This is the one picture the list of capital projects to be constructed. You have to go through and isolate the growth-related portion of each of those projects. So the part that's increasing capacity, future users. That's the includable part in the calculation.
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