Hinsdale trustees debate who pays as village plans lead service line replacement program

Trustees on the Hinsdale Village Board spent the majority of their July 21 meeting on a first reading of a proposed lead service line replacement policy required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois EPA rules.

Staff consultant George Paluso told trustees the village inventory includes 5,786 service lines, 197 known lead services and 205 unknowns; the village is planning for roughly 300 lead or probable-lead services and a replacement target of about 30 services per year to meet a 10% annual replacement requirement beginning in 2027. "We have a total of 5,786 total water service lines within the village," Paluso said, and staff estimate about 100 unknowns will be confirmed as lead.

Paluso outlined three funding models for trustees to consider: (1) a village cost-share where the village pays from the main to the Buffalo box and reimburses 50% of homeowner private-side work capped at $6,000; (2) a straight 50/50 split; and (3) the village pays the public side while homeowners pay 100% of the private side. He told the board that many peer communities favor option one but caps vary. Costs per service were discussed in ranges; Paluso noted the village is carrying a conservative high estimate of roughly $20,000 per service, with private-side work often estimated near $12,000.

Trustees debated the policy's equity and fiscal implications. Trustee Banky advocated for the more generous approach and proposed two specific hardship provisions: full village coverage for homeowners with a two-year documented federal adjusted gross income at or below 50% of DuPage County AMI, and a waiver of permit/inspection fees plus a free water meter for homeowners who proactively replace lines. "If the individual is of low income and they can provide two years of documentation…the village will absorb 100% of the cost," Banky said, giving an example AGI threshold discussed in the meeting record.

Other trustees said they favored a cost-share (option one) to encourage participation without broadly subsidizing private-property work. One trustee asked for data on how many homeowners would meet any proposed AMI hardship threshold, saying the village should avoid a situation where a small minority receive a large subsidy funded by the majority.

Board members also pressed staff on legal and enforcement details, including Illinois Department of Public Health waiver procedures when property owners refuse access and how a homeowner's refusal to pay would be handled. Staff said the waiver and notice process is prescribed by statute and that certain partial-replacement steps can be documented to avoid an enforcement violation, but refusing to pay after granting access would raise collection questions and could involve mechanic's liens or prepayment requirements under a final policy.

The board did not vote on a final policy. Staff said they will finish design engineering by December, plan to notify property owners late summer or fall, and aim to put contracts out to bid this winter for construction in spring or summer 2027. The item returns for a second reading and expected vote on Aug. 11. "We're going to draft something that's kind of skewed towards option three," President Hart said, while also noting the board had not yet reached consensus.

Next steps: trustees requested clearer definitions of compliance and waiver steps, additional data on homeowner incomes relative to AMI, and more detailed cost estimates before final action at the August meeting.