Smithfield council votes to collect stormwater utility fee on property tax, will seek legislative authorization

The Town of Smithfield council voted to have the town collect a planned stormwater utility fee on the annual property tax bill and directed staff to pursue the state-level authorization needed to make that change.

Town Manager Mike told the council that the town previously accepted roughly a $500,000 state grant to complete an ERU (equivalent residential unit) fee study and infrastructure mapping. He said staff was not asking the council to set the fee amount or adopt an ordinance tonight but to decide how fees would be collected. "Staff's recommendation is to add it as a part of the property tax bill," Mike said, describing an annual payment rather than a monthly utility charge.

The council discussed two collection options. Manager Mike said placing the fee on tax rolls would avoid adding to monthly utility bills and simplify administration for multi-tenant properties. Using the outlet center as an example, he said dividing costs across dozens of storefronts could be complex under a utility-billing approach. Mike also noted that placing the fee on tax rolls would allow the town to consider offsets tied to upcoming property revaluations.

Steven, who is handling the mapping and study work, said the fee study (ERU) is complete and the mapping of stormwater infrastructure is "mostly done," with a large GIS file recently delivered and consultant meetings planned to finish inventorying pipes and inverts in both town and NCDOT rights-of-way.

Council members pressed staff on how ERU-based fees translate to per-household or per-capita figures in the packet. Mike said the committee recommended a $6-per-ERU monthly fee, which amounts to about $72 a year for the typical property under that calculation. The council discussed how state comparison tables report figures as "per capita" and how those tables were being normalized for households.

Mike also noted a statutory constraint: the agenda packet included a state statute excerpt (cited in the record as "168 3 14 paragraph 4") listing communities that may have stormwater charges on tax rolls. He said Smithfield would need to ask its legislators to add the town to that list. On county logistics, staff said the county would place the fee on the property tax bill and retain an administrative collection fee (staff estimated roughly 2 percent as an illustrative figure).

After discussion, a council member moved to apply the stormwater fee to the annual property tax bill; the motion was seconded, members voted in favor, and the mayor declared the motion carried. The council also noted that establishing the enterprise fund and other steps tied to the grant remain time-sensitive.

What happens next: staff will contact legislators about the cited statute and continue work on the enterprise fund, mapping and implementation details. The council approved the collection method but did not set a fee amount or adopt an ordinance tonight.