Laramie council weighs capped stormwater-fee options, staff to draft ordinance starting at $230 cap

LARAMIE, Wyo. — City staff told the Laramie City Council on Nov. 12 that two capped-fee options for a storm/surface water utility would sustain about $700,000 a year in operating costs while producing materially different 10-year capital totals, and recommended staff draft ordinance language reflecting council direction.

At a work session, Director Brooks Webb presented two scenarios the council requested: a lower-cap approach (roughly a $100 cap for larger nonresidential accounts and a $30 residential cap) and a higher-cap approach (roughly a $200 nonresidential cap and $30 residential). Webb said “the annual amount dedicated to operations under the cap scenarios is $700,000” and described recent staffing gains: the city hired two additional operators in July, who helped clean about 24,775 feet of storm lines since July 1 and saved roughly $50,000 on pipelining support this year.

Why it matters: Staff told council the caps change the city’s available capital for multi-year projects. Director Webb said a $200…