Council merges stormwater and drainage maintenance divisions, consolidates fees with no net increase

The Lawton City Council approved a set of companion actions to merge the city's stormwater management and drainage maintenance divisions into a single stormwater maintenance division and to update the municipal code and fee schedule accordingly.

City staff explained the move will consolidate funds, remove duplicative administrative costs and allow the city to direct drainage in-lieu-of on-site detention fees into a single account for larger stormwater capital projects. Staff said the drainage in-lieu fund typically collects only $2,000 to $3,000 per year and cannot support larger capital improvements in isolation.

Michael (presenter for Public Works) said the merger will not increase the net fee charged to utility customers: two existing fee lines — a $1.25 line and a $2.30 line — will be consolidated into a single $3.55 stormwater maintenance fee shown as one line item, with no overall increase. He said operational savings will come from reduced overlap in supervisory and administrative roles and more efficient use of crews and equipment.

Council voted to: (1) repeal the older resolution that established the separate drainage fund; (2) adopt code amendments updating the accounts, clarifying the responsibilities of the Stormwater Drainage Advisory Committee and specifying uses of the stormwater maintenance fee; and (3) amend the fee schedule to merge the stormwater management and drainage maintenance fees. Council waived the ordinance reading, approved the ordinance and passed the fee resolution; staff said the changes will allow for combined capital-priority planning without increasing residential utility bills.

Council asked staff to finalize the exact utility-bill wording to reflect the consolidated line item if the ordinance passed.