Bowling Green commission advances first reading to create stormwater utility with $4/month residential fee

The Bowling Green Board of Commissioners on Nov. 4 advanced the first reading of ordinance BG2025-26 to establish a stormwater utility and related fee structure, a measure city staff says is intended to address longstanding drainage and flooding problems across the city.

City staff presented the proposal and an analysis that defines an equivalent residential unit (ERU) at 4,200 square feet of impervious surface. Matt, the city's stormwater lead, told commissioners that the ordinance would set a $4 monthly residential charge (a total of $48 per year) and a commercial ERU methodology, and would create a fee-in-lieu-of-construction option developers have requested. Matt said the city will not begin collecting fees until Jan. 1, 2027, to allow time for system setup, credits and interlocal billing agreements.

Why it matters: City staff described a large, multi-decade backlog of stormwater needs and said the utility would provide dedicated revenue to assess the system, prioritize urgent repairs and plan larger mitigation projects. Matt said the ERU calculation was supported by aerial/land-cover data and that the city's ERU (4,200 sq ft) is larger than many peer communities, which reduces assessed fees for some commercial users.

Key details from the presentation: staff estimated roughly 36,000 stormwater utility accounts citywide, about 17,000 of which are single-family residential accounts; when multifamily dwellings are counted the utility will serve about 36,000 accounts. Staff said the ERU calculation, completed with purchased data from NV5 and internal analysis, produced the 4,200-square-foot value. The staff presentation also described a design storm (3-hour, 100-year event) and stressed that existing parts of the system cannot meet that level of service today.

Discounts and equity concerns: Commissioners pressed staff on protections for seniors, residents with disabilities and low-income households. Matt and JT (an analyst on the project) said they examined models used across Kentucky, including one-by-one discounts, half-ERU thresholds and LFUCG's income-based program, but concluded that targeted discounts would require substantial administrative staff and cost more to administer than the potential benefit (staff estimated a maximum administrable discount of up to 50% for a narrowly defined class). Matt said staff prioritized keeping the base residential fee low ($4/month) rather than creating a complex discount program that would be costly to administer.

Responses from commissioners: Several commissioners voiced support for the utility as a long-term investment. Commissioner Beasley Brown said she would vote for the ordinance but urged staff and the commission to keep exploring options to help seniors and disabled residents who are on fixed incomes. City Manager Jeff Meisel and others said the ordinance language allows the commission to revisit fees and that staff will return with more precise revenue and project estimates before second reading and implementation.

Next steps: Commissioners advanced BG2025-26 on first reading and took a roll-call vote in favor. Staff said the ordinance's non-technical edits and standards would take effect immediately upon second reading but that the fee itself would not be billed until Jan. 1, 2027. Staff also proposed periodic reviews (every five years) and said they will bring updated revenue projections and project lists to the commission at second reading.

Quotes: “Anyone that lives in the city of Bowling Green in a residential setting will pay $4 per month, a total of $48 per year, into that stormwater fund,” Matt said. “We bought that [land-cover] data and JT did the analysis that identified our ERU as being 4,200 square feet.” Commissioner Beasley Brown said: “For that, I will vote yes, but I hope in the future that we do find something for our elder, and our disabled population where we could possibly give them something that can help them out.”

What the ordinance does not yet say: Staff declined to provide a final first-year revenue estimate at the meeting, saying they wanted more time to verify the numbers with finance staff and consultants; they asked the commission to wait for more detailed revenue and project allocations at second reading.

The commission set the ordinance for further consideration; staff will return with refined financial projections and implementation details ahead of fee collection beginning Jan. 1, 2027.