Fayetteville considers stormwater fee 2 years out

FAYETTEVILLE — The city is about two years away from potentially having a fee to address stormwater needs.

Council members heard a presentation Tuesday on the progress of imposing a fee on residents’ monthly utility bills to pay for ongoing stormwater needs. The fee would be based on a property’s total impervious surface area, meaning the amount of hard surface water cannot pass through. The more impervious surface area a property contains, the higher the fee would be.

A request on the council’s agenda Tuesday would outline about two years of work for staff and hired consultant, Jacobs engineering firm. The request also serves as notice to impose a stormwater utility fee, but the City Council would still have to approve whether to impose the fee at a later date.

Tuesday’s request, if approved, would provide Jacobs $199,660 to come up with projects for the council to consider. The projects include developing a billing database and procedure, finalizing a credit system, analyzing the amount of impervious surface area in the city and coming up with a proposed rate structure, according to a memo to the council.

The project also involves a public outreach campaign to educate residents about the program once the analysis is complete.

A significant rainfall in April 2017 in which several homes and streets were flooded prompted city officials to look into flooding solutions. The City Council approved a contract with Jacobs in June 2018 to study ways to pay for flood mitigation, including the feasibility of a stormwater utility fee.

Another significant rainfall May 5 flooded areas that didn’t flood in 2017, showing the continued need to address the issue, said Alan Pugh, staff engineer with the city.

The city already spends about $1.5 million annually to address stormwater needs, but the amount isn’t enough, Pugh said. Proposed fee rates presented to the council using 2018 data would generate about $2.4 million more, bringing the total available for stormwater mitigation to $3.9 million annually, he said.

The city could double spending on stormwater operation and maintenance and put more toward stormwater capital projects, Pugh said. The city also could hire more staff to handle the additional workload, he said.

The council was presented a six-tiered rate structure for anyone with sewer service in the city. The fee would apply to residential, commercial, industrial and public customers, such as the University of Arkansas or other governmental entities.

Most customers in the city, about 37%, have 2,000 to 3,500 square feet of impervious surface area, according to 2018 data. That would result in an extra $3.19 per month on a utility bill. The increase would be phased in over five years, as opposed to appearing all at once on a bill. Another 25% of customers in the city have 3,500 to 5,000 square feet of impervious surface area, which would result in an additional $4.93 in monthly fees after five years.

The program would include a credit program to reduce the fee amount for some property owners, said Heather Dyke with Jacobs. For instance, properties that have no direct discharge into the city’s stormwater system, properties with shared parking and property owners who do their own stormwater maintenance or have retrofitted properties with mitigation measures could see a reduction in the fee. Public customers also would be eligible for a credit, she said.

City staff hope to have the fee and credit system figured out by early next year, Pugh said. At that point, the City Council would decide whether to adopt the program.

The council also would have the option to put the question to voters, City Attorney Kit Williams said. Williams has raised concerns about whether the program could be legally considered a fee or a tax. Putting the issue to voters would make the issue moot, he said.

Historically, putting an issue to a vote usually quashes public debate over that issue, Williams said.

Pugh said it would likely take an additional year of work to impose a fee if it’s adopted by either voters or the council, meaning residents could see the first increase on a bill by 2024.