(A) Stormwater utility service fees will be determined and modified from time to time by the City Council, so that the total revenues generated by these fees will be used to pay such expenses as are reasonably necessary or convenient in the management, administration, planning, regulatory compliance, public education, construction, operation, and maintenance of the stormwater system, and to pay principal of and interest on the debt incurred for stormwater purposes.
(B) The fee system must be reasonable and equitable so that users pay to the extent they contribute to the need for the stormwater management utility, and so that fees bear a substantial relationship to the cost of service. The City Council recognizes that these benefits, while substantial, in many cases cannot be measured directly.
(1) Stormwater utility service fees shall accrue on the date determined by City Council and set forth in the city schedule of rates and fees. Stormwater utility service fees shall apply to all land as presented in § 54.04, whether public or private. Exemptions shall not be allowed based on age, tax exemption, or other status of an individual or organization, except as set forth in § 54.06.
(2) Stormwater utility service fees shall be based on a commonly accepted rate unit for stormwater utilities, the equivalent residential unit (ERU). The ERU is used to relate a base rate fee charged to a single-family residential property to that charged to a non-single-family residential property. The city’s ERU is 3,000 square feet of impervious surface area. The ERU is determined by analyzing digital photographs and, for verification purposes, performing field checks of a representative sample of single-family residences within the city limits.
(3) Current stormwater utility fee rates are maintained in the city’s Manual of Fees and Charges as part of the annual budget ordinance.
(a) All single-family residential properties will be charged the corresponding rate for one ERU per month.
(b) All non single-family residential properties will be charged the corresponding rate per ERU for the total number of ERUs on the property.
(Ord. 2017-29, passed 6-5-17; Am. Ord. 2018-3, passed 1-22-18; Am. Ord. 2024-1, passed 1-22-24)