Duluth City Councilors voted down a controversial sewer surcharge designed to solve the city's lingering sewer overflow problem. Trevor Roy has the details on this potentially expensive "no" vote.

Nine-dollars and seventy-cents more a month, that's the amount some City Councilors see as too expensive to taxpayers to fix Duluth's perpetual sewer problem.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, four councilors voted against a proposal brought by Mayor Don Ness to add a monthly surcharge to Duluth resident's utility bills.

The money that the surcharge would raise would've gone towards repairs and upgrades to the city's aging sewer infrastructure.

City Councilor Jim Stauber one of four councilors who voted against the charge says the city needs to look at its own expenses before going to the taxpayers.

"I think the mayor needs to step back and say where were the issues and I can only speak for myself, my issue was, the mayor relied solely on creating additional new revenue on the backs of the taxpayers of the city of Duluth. He did not address a single expense, not a single dime to help pay for this"

Mayor Don Ness sees the proposal as a chance for councilors to make the tough decision and finally fix the problem.

"I understand that it's a difficult vote for councilors and nobody wants to impose fees and nobody wants to make investments in underground infrastructure. It's the last thing that a politician would want to do. The fact of the matter is it's necessary, it needs to happen."

Councilor Tony Cuneo, who voted for the plan says he doesn't want to see The city's crumbling sewer system be a burden to future generations.

"In the long run, I think it will save more. It comes down to pay some now or pay a whole lot more later and I don't think it's fair---less fair to make the next generation to pay a whole lot more."

Duluth is under a federal mandate to prevent all sewer overflows into Lake Superior.

If the city doesn't comply with that mandate, all development in the city could screech to a halt.

Not to mention the possibility of millions of dollars in fines coupled with Duluth's already dire financial situation, not passing the surcharge could spell even more trouble for Duluth.

Trevor Roy, the NorthlandsNewscenter.

The sewer surcharge may come up again at Friday's special city council meeting.

The mayor's office and city councilors have said they're working on a compromise and hopefully will reach an agreement to solve this problem.