Consultant recommends small increase to Murphy stormwater fee; council told change would appear in fall fee schedule

Consultant Gary Hendricks presented the City Council with a five-year review of Murphy’s stormwater utility rates on May 20, recommending an increase in the residential monthly fee from $3.80 to $4.05 and a nonresidential rate of $20.66 per month per acre.

"A residence is a residence so everybody receives the same flat fee," Hendricks said, describing Murphy’s current approach of charging a uniform residential rate regardless of house size. He told council the city is focusing the fee on operation and maintenance costs required by the city’s municipal separate storm sewer system and the state discharge permit, and that staff excluded capital improvement spending from the current calculation.

Hendricks described the city’s system and the methodology used to apportion costs by runoff contribution. Using a 3.2% inflation factor and the city’s operating budget for stormwater, he said the consultant’s five-year, level-rate calculation yields an average annual O&M requirement that translates to $4.05 per residential unit and $20.66 per acre for nonresidential properties.

Councilmembers asked how the revenue would be spent. Hendricks and staff said the funds support staff, equipment and activities listed in the city’s stormwater management plan, such as inlet and pipe maintenance, permit annual reporting and public-education activities. A city staff member explained the stormwater function was previously integrated in public works and is now more explicitly tracked in the stormwater budget.

Council members also asked about credits for commercial properties with detention ponds. Hendricks said the credit process reduces a nonresidential runoff coefficient from 0.9 to 0.5 if an approved detention facility is demonstrated and maintained; he noted relatively few properties in Murphy have applied for that credit and that annual inspections of such facilities are not currently performed but are under consideration (staff suggested a multi-year review cycle, perhaps every three years).

No fee ordinance was adopted May 20; Hendricks told the council any proposed rate changes would be rolled into the city’s fee schedule and considered later in the summer with an effective date of Oct. 1 if adopted.

A comparison slide showed Murphy’s proposed residential rate remains lower than some peer cities; Hendricks emphasized the city could adjust exemptions or consider more granular residential tiers but said such changes would only slightly alter the rate.