Wendell council authorizes prorated waivers after Wake County finds stormwater billing error

The Wendell Town Council approved a staff recommendation to authorize prorated waivers after Wake County identified an error that affected stormwater fee billing for thousands of properties.

Town staff told the council that on July 22, 2025 the Wake County tax administrator notified the town that roughly just over 1,200 properties were not charged the annual stormwater fee in the 2024 billing cycle and about 2,500 properties were affected in the current billing cycle. Wake County sent revised tax bills reflecting additional charges of either about $75 or $150 depending on a property’s prior exclusions.

Town staff recommended the council authorize waivers of the adopted fee on a prorated basis for owners who did not own property for the full fiscal year (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025). The staff report said Wake County would handle administrative updates: if a payment had already been made Wake County would issue a refund to the owner or the escrow agent; if not paid, the county would adjust the account balance and handle notifications.

A motion to "approve the stormwater fee waiver amendment and authorize the town manager or designee to submit the claims to the Wake County tax administrator" was made and the council voted in favor with no opposed votes recorded in the meeting transcript. Town staff said the county’s initial report identified about 164 properties that required additional proration because ownership changed during the fiscal year.

Council members asked clarifying questions about the scope and effect of the waivers; staff emphasized the approach aims to be fair to property owners who were not assessed properly and that Wake County would administer refunds and account adjustments.