City staff presented the Livingston City Commission with an update on the city's multi-year effort to evaluate whether to establish a stormwater utility, citing rising regulatory pressure and recent progress on data analysis.

The update explained why a utility is being considered: Livingston may soon reach the federal/state MS4 threshold and would face compliance obligations. The presenter said the latest American Community Survey "showed that Livingston was approaching 9,200 in population," and noted the MS4 designation is triggered when combined census population and commercially available lodging reach 10,000, after which jurisdictions generally have five years to comply.

Staff reviewed prior work dating to a 2018 downtown drainage study, a 2022 preliminary engineering report adopted in 2023 and a consultant feasibility presentation delivered last December by Headwaters Economics and AE2S. That feasibility work produced a shortlist of infrastructure projects and recommended next steps including a development plan, community engagement and ordinance drafting.

Funding for the next-phase development plan has been uneven. Staff told the commission the city was a finalist for a U.S. EPA grant but that "those EPA funds had been the victim of recisions at the federal level," and the opportunity was canceled. Later, the city received a private $50,000 award from a nonprofit associated with Headwaters Economics to continue the evaluation; staff said Headwaters and its foundation have signed an agreement with AE2S to proceed on behalf of the city (as stated in the presentation).

The consultant scope includes a spatial data analysis of impervious surface area across property types, a review of the city's billing system to determine how a utility would be implemented administratively, and support drafting required ordinances and municipal code amendments. Staff described the data approach: a 100% parcel review for commercial, industrial and multifamily parcels and a representative 5% sampling of single-family properties to estimate typical impervious cover.

Staff also outlined possible billing frameworks the commission will need to consider: a uniform flat rate across the city; an impervious-surface-based fee; or a hybrid combining gross and impervious measures. Staff illustrated the approach with a multifamily parcel example at the corner of Miller and Love's, where current and proposed site plans were overlaid to estimate lot coverage.

AE2S is expected to complete much of the impervious-area and billing analysis by late October into early November and provide a report to the commission. Staff said the commission is expected to provide direction later this year or in early next year about whether to proceed with formal development of a stormwater utility, which would be a response to impending federal and state regulatory requirements.

No formal motion or vote was recorded during the update; the item was informational and staff will return with the consultant report and proposed ordinances if the commission chooses to direct further work.