Eagle Pass council pauses drainage-fee increase as staff wins approval for regional stormwater program

City of Eagle Pass officials on Oct. 14 paused a proposed increase to the city’s monthly stormwater (drainage) utility fee after questions from council members and a staff request for more detailed revenue projections, but approved a separate program allowing developers to pay fees in lieu of on‑site detention.

City engineers proposed raising the flat residential drainage utility fee from $5.00 to $7.50 per month and revising the non‑residential rate schedule so larger commercial lots would pay higher acre‑based charges. Staff said the change would increase revenue available for maintenance and capital drainage projects and to meet Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) obligations to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The city engineer and assistant public‑works staff outlined that the current fee structure (residential $5; nonresidential $8 per acre/lot tiers) had not been updated since 2016, that the city currently projects roughly $576,000 in annual collections under the existing charge, and that a 2018 certificate…