If you're opening a restaurant or expanding a shop in Bloomington, the sewer availability charge, or SAC, can arrive as an unwelcome surprise. The city has 2 programs meant to soften it, and Assistant Port Authority Administrator Barb Wolff recently gave commissioners an informational update on both. Nobody voted on anything. The update showed that the deferral program has a short list of users so far, while the credit program has been handing out money more widely.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNAssistant Port Authority Administrator Barb Wolf gave an informational update (no vote taken) on two programs helping businesses cover sewer availability charge fees: a low-interest deferral program (three restaurants have used it since 2022) and a credit/grant program that has distributed about $293,000 since 2022, including a new $75,000 Port Authority-funded SAC credit pool approved in the 2026 budget.07/21
Wolff works on the Port Authority's business assistance team, which the city lists as the first stop for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking for help.
The deferral program spreads the SAC bill over 5 years of monthly payments so a business doesn't have to pay it all upfront. Wolff told commissioners that 3 restaurants have used it since it launched. The city says a business qualifies if it has fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees, is locally and independently owned, is located in Bloomington and was assessed between 2 and 25 SAC units before credits. Residential projects, hotels and assisted living facilities are excluded. Applicants pay at least 20% of the total fee plus the first monthly payment when they apply. The interest rate is 2.27% for 2026, and the city resets it each year based on the Metropolitan Council's average cost of debt. Paying off early carries no penalty.
Before you sign, know this: according to the city, if the property is sold, the whole deferred amount comes due at the sale. If the business closes, the city waives future payments once it verifies the closure. If a business defaults, the unpaid balance is assessed to the property.
Instead of postponing the bill, the credit program reduces it. The city says it awards up to 10 SAC units per eligible business each calendar year, with no interest. Eligible businesses have 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, are locally and independently owned, and are in good standing with the state and the city. National chains can't apply, and businesses in the city's targeted commercial nodes get priority.
The update was informational only. To ask about eligibility, contact the city's Building and Inspections department at 952-563-8930.
From the meeting: Port Authority Meeting, July 21, 2026.
