Annapolis faces stormwater shortfall; consultants recommend 15% fee hikes and propose ERU-based nonresidential charges

Consultants and public works staff told the Annapolis Finance Standing Committee on April 29 that the city’s stormwater enterprise fund is running below the council’s minimum target and would exhaust reserves within a few years without significant fee increases or structural changes to billing.

David (Dave) Heider of Stantec presented the stormwater analysis, which showed operating expenditures for stormwater at roughly $2.6 million in FY26 and a forecast that, with no fee increases, the fund would be negative by about fiscal 2027. He said a primary driver in FY26 operating growth was a $515,000 tree program included in the operating budget.

Recommendation and scenarios

Stantec recommended a 15% stormwater fee increase in FY26 and another 15% in FY27, followed by lower annual increases. Under that plan, the fund would recover to the minimum…