Oak Harbor residents may want to take the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” rule seriously.

The Oak Harbor City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday that will create a “per flush” fee to help pay for the $100-million sewage treatment plant under construction in Windjammer Park.

The $1-a-flush charge will be in “loo” of regular sewer rates.

City utility workers will start handing out the new toilet meters on April 1.

Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns said he came up with the idea for the new fee while reading the newspaper first thing in the morning. He said it’s only fair that households with frequent toilet usage should pay more than homes where flushes are few and far between.

“I recommend cheese to those wishing to save money,” he said.

Several residents complained about the idea, saying they don’t want to flush their money down the drain.

The toilet-related controversy came to a head Saturday when several residents “TPed” City Hall, but the mayor told them to put a lid on it.

The per-flush tax is part of a growing trend across the nation in which users are asked to fund services directly through such fees. The state’s Discover Pass program, for example, collects funds from those who use parks. Similarly, the EPA is reportedly looking at a special tax on mouth breathers to fund clean air initiatives.

Council members are also looking at ways to generate money with the new sewage treatment plant. Whidbey Coffee and Scottie’s Plumbing have submitted bids for naming rights to the facility.

Council members also plan to sell the grainy, dried end-product of the facility back to residents who created the raw material, possibly under the name “You Poo.”

The material isn’t just good for gardens, they said, but it can be used to reinforce concrete, fill cat-litter boxes or put out kitchen fires. Local artists have even used the wet material to sculpt statues of local elected officials.

April Fools!