Laramie begins billing for surface water drainage utility as residents push for credits, clearer appeals

City staff and outside consultants told the Laramie City Council work session that the city has begun billing a newly formed surface water drainage utility after a multi‑year feasibility study that quantified a large backlog of stormwater capital needs.

Consultants from WSP said the city’s 2010–2022 master planning work identified roughly $130,000,000 in stormwater capital projects, about $30,000,000 of which was labeled “high priority.” Aaron Murray of WSP described the effort as “establishing, was there a need? What would be the level of service that the city would want to provide?” and outlined a 10‑year program that pairs asset management, operations and maintenance, and a capital program with a billing model based on measured impervious area.

The fee uses a 500‑square‑foot “billing unit.” WSP showed how aerial imagery and parcel overlays produced an impervious area data layer at the lot level; the consultant gave an example calculation for a 3,700‑square‑foot impervious parcel (3,700 ÷ 500 ≈ 7 billing units) and said the adopted per‑unit charge is $1.67 per billing unit. Elizabeth Treadway of WSP said the adopted financial policy smooths capital spending by…