§ 53.20 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FEE.
   (A)   The Council, upon the recommendation of the Board, shall establish the fees to be paid by each owner, lessee, occupant or user (customer) of real property in the city.
   (B)   The stormwater management fee shall be $1.00 per equivalent residential unit ("ERU") beginning on April 1, 2018. The stormwater management fee shall be increased to three dollars ($3.00) per ERU, effective July 1, 2018; increased to four dollars ($4.00) per ERU, effective July 1, 2019; and increased to five dollars ($5.00) per ERU, effective July 1,2020.
   (C)   The stormwater management fee provided for in this section is to be collected from properties containing measurable impervious area within the district, unless such parcels arc exempt as stated in the following sections.
   (D)   The following impervious areas are exempt from measurement and calculation of a stormwater user fee:
      (1)   Public streets, public roads, and public highways;
      (2)   Railway beds, ties, and rails in operation or an operational state; and
      (3)   Open water.
   (E)   If a nonresidential property is situated so that stormwater from a property is captured, used up in a process and never returned to the stormwater system of the city, the property may be partially exempt from the stormwater user fee. This is not intended to be all- inclusive and exemptions may be granted by the Board in response to a fee adjustment review pursuant to the procedures described in the following sections.
   (F)   The Utility shall periodically review the stormwater management fee for the Council to determine if the fees are adequate to address the operation, maintenance and management responsibilities of the Utility and shall make recommendations to the Council on any amendments to the fee or the method used to calculate the fee.
   (G)   Changes to the fees or the method(s) for calculating fees shall be made by Council ordinance, upon recommendation of the Board, after the public readings and public hearings required by law to establish or change said fees.
   (H)   The Clerk-Treasurer shall collect and retain such fees in a separate storm water management fund.
   (I)   Said fee shall be billed on a quarterly basis and shall be paid in the same manner as other city utility bills.
   (J)   In the event land or property changes ownership in the middle of the quarterly billing cycle, said fee will be pro-rated between the owners of the land or property.
   (K)   The stormwater management fee shall be used to pay for the design, planning, regulation, education, administration, coordination, construction, operation, maintenance, inspection and enforcement activities of the stormwater system of the district.
   (L)   All stormwater bills shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days from the date of the bill. All charges shall be delinquent if not paid by within thirty (30) days. A penalty shall accrue thereupon after thirty (30) days. Failure to pay any overdue stormwater bill within 30 days of the date the bill is due shall result in a ten percent (10%) penalty being assessed to the overdue stormwater bill.
(Ord. 1625, passed 6-6-16; Am. Ord. 1658, passed 4-2-18)