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Deerfield Beach gives first reading to stormwater utility ordinance, sets July 8 public hearing
Summary
The commission held first reading on an ordinance to formalize the stormwater utility and align procedures for placing stormwater assessments on the property tax roll; commissioners said the measure does not set new rates and staff will return July 8 with preliminary assessment amounts.
On June 3 the Deerfield Beach City Commission gave first reading to an ordinance that establishes the city's stormwater utility, sets notice and assessment procedures, and aligns those procedures with the city's fire assessment roll. The ordinance sets a second reading and public hearing for July 8, 2025, when staff expects to present a preliminary assessment resolution with proposed rates.
City Attorney read the ordinance into the record and explained the item aligns the annual adoption and notice procedures for stormwater assessments with the fire assessment process. The ordinance does not adopt a specific fee or assessment amount on first reading; staff will return with proposed assessment levels during the second-reading process.
Commissioners and members of the public noted timing and local conditions. Commissioner Tom Shanetzky said the item is timely given the rainy and hurricane seasons. Commissioner Mary Hudak confirmed the ordinance does not, by itself, change fees or add new taxes; it provides the mechanism to continue annual assessments on the ad valorem tax roll, as the city did in 2024 when it first used tax-bill collection for stormwater assessments.
State Representative Gwen Clark Reed asked if the city would receive a separate stormwater bill in addition to charges currently on water bills; commissioners and staff replied no, that the ordinance provides for tax-roll collection and does not create a new simultaneous water-bill charge.
The motion to approve first reading and set the second-reading public hearing for July 8 was made by Commissioner Mary Hudak, seconded by Commissioner John Plaut, and passed unanimously.
