McMinnville officials discuss stormwater funding, user-fee options and priority projects

John Clarkson, a municipal advisor with the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), told the City of McMinnville Joint Finance and Street Drainage Committee that the city must both maintain its drainage system and meet Phase II stormwater permit requirements and that doing both will require a dedicated and sustainable revenue stream.

Clarkson said McMinnville currently falls under a Phase II MS4 stormwater permit, which requires six program elements including public education and outreach, illicit-discharge detection and elimination, and post-construction runoff controls. “McMinnville is under a phase 2 permit,” he said, adding that the enabling Tennessee law allows municipalities to create stormwater user fees that “shall be based upon impervious square footage.”

The presentation reviewed four broad funding paths: pay from existing general‑fund revenues, adopt a general‑fund tax increase dedicated to drainage, leverage capital borrowing (bonds or state revolving funds) for capital work, or create a dedicated stormwater utility funded by a user fee. Clarkson cautioned that borrowing should generally fund capital improvements, not ongoing maintenance, and pointed committee members to the Clean Water…