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Holladay staff recommends plan to raise stormwater fee; council leans toward phased increases
Summary
Council and staff discussed options to shore up the stormwater enterprise fund, including identifying under‑billed properties and either a one‑time large increase or incremental rises over five years; staff said a public hearing would be required and targeted an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027 for any increase.
Unidentified Speaker 3 told the council the stormwater enterprise fund balance has fallen and “if we wanna continue to fund it properly, we need to raise the fee.” Staff outlined two main options: pursue unpaid or under‑assessed parcels that should already be paying the fee, and either approve a single larger increase (staff characterized it as a ~30% step) or adopt a multi‑year incremental plan (for example, 5% per year over five years).
Unidentified Speaker 4 urged smoothing increases to reduce taxpayer shock, saying “the smaller chunks and shorter time frames seem to be what they recommended.” Staff explained the fee is earmarked for stormwater purposes only and recommended adopting a policy to guide future councils on timing and magnitude of increases.
Staff noted the legal process requires a public hearing before any rate change and floated a target effective date of Jan. 1, 2027 if the council adopts a policy in coming months. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the city will also attempt to identify properties that were omitted from earlier parcel‑level calculations (impervious area and commercial parking adjustments) to recover revenue without a rate change.
The council did not take a final vote; members asked staff to prepare outreach materials, an analysis of missed parcels, and a policy proposal that would allow an incoming council to implement a phased rate plan in the next budget cycle. The administration said it would return with more precise revenue estimates and a timeline for the required public hearing.
What’s next: Staff will prepare an options memo and outreach plan, estimate revenue from reclassified parcels, and schedule the required public hearing if the council signals intent to pursue a fee change.
