2023-73 Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 38 Stormwater Ordinance

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Area Drainage 10 Masters Drive Drainage 22.0 $1,550,000 Total $25,650,000 The fee change proposed herein will not be able to fund all of the projects identified in Table 1 either,but a fee adjustment enable the city to make more progress on the project backlog. Stormwater Fee Chapter 38 of the City Code,known as the Stormwater Ordinance,was amended by the City Council in 2014 to assess a storm water fee to each property in the City. The fee is in two parts consisting of a Base Fee and a Usage Fee: Monthly Charge=Base Fee+Usage Fee The Base Fee,is a fee incurred by each parcel of property in the City,that is assessed for the benefit of the stormwater system. The Base Fee is the same for each parcel regardless of size. It is currently$3.00 per month per parcel. The proposal is to increase this to$5.00 over the next 2 years by adding$1.00 beginning January 2024 and adding another$1.00 in January 2025.Phasing in the first increase in 9 years will make it less of a burden for rate payers. The Usage Fee is based on the Equivalent Residential Unit(ERU)value calculated for each property. One ERU is defined as 4,500 square feet of impervious area in the City Code. The ERU standardizes each property to how much stormwater they discharge compared to an average residential property in the City. In general,excepting residential properties over 1 acre in size, each developed residential property currently pays$0.67 per month per property,or 1 ERU. It is proposed that this rate increase to $1.10 over the next 2 years by adding$0.21 beginning January 2024 and$0.22 in January 2025. Commercial or industrial properties with significant amounts of impervious area will pay a multiple of this amount depending on how much their impervious area exceeds 4,500 square feet. For instance,a commercial or industrial property with 5 times 4,500 sf currently pays 5 times the standard residential ERU or 5 X$0.67. The proposal to increase the monthly stormwater charge is as follows: January 1,2024— Increase the Base Fee from$3.00 to$4.00,Increase the ERU from$0.67 to$0.88: Base Fee $4.00 $0.88 x Number of Usage Fee ERUs Total Monthly Fee $4.00+($0.88 x ERUs) January 1,2025— Increase the Base Fee from$4.00 to$5.00,Increase the ERU from$0.88 to$1.10: Base Fee $5.00 $1.10 x Number of Usage Fee ERUs Total Monthly Fee $5.00+($1.10 x ERUs) May 1,2026— Increase the Base Fee and ERU by 2.5 percent or by the annual percentage change of the U.S. Department of Labor Midwest Urban Consumer Price Index for each corresponding January 1 to December 31 of the preceding year,whichever is greater. The City Council must authorize any annual increase that is 5.0 percent or higher. The proposal is expected to bring in an additional$1.2 million per year,which reflects about a 75%increase in available project funding. Although based on an estimate of actual stormwater runoff,the residential calculation is a flat fee. However,the stormwater fee for commercial and industrial customers is based on the actual calculated amount of impervious surfaces(roofs,parking lots,etc.). City staff updates these actual pervious surface amounts for commercial and industrial locations periodically using aerial mapping and GIS.