Finance committee backs substitute amendment on stormwater fee after hours of testimony; Wolf opposes
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Summary
The Cheyenne Finance Committee passed a substitute amendment affecting the city’s stormwater fee — advancing a change to the governing body after extensive staff briefings, council questions and public remarks; the substitute passed with Councilman Wolf recorded as opposed.
City staff, council members and residents spent more than an hour debating a contested ordinance on March 3 as the Finance Committee weighed whether to delay, repeal or otherwise amend the city’s stormwater-fee ordinance.
City Attorney John Brody told the committee the ordinance before the body would delay the effective date of the stormwater-fee implementation to March 5, 2027. He said the delay was proposed to allow state-level conversations about stormwater management and funding to proceed: “It delays that effective date to, I believe, 03/05/2027,” Brody said.
The meeting included repeated reminders of the 1985 flood. Councilman Wolf recounted his family’s experience in that event to underline what he called a public-safety dimension of stormwater planning; Wolf asked whether repeal or delay would affect ongoing litigation related to the fee. Brody replied that city actions could affect litigation but declined to predict an outcome, saying only that “the actions taken by the city council could very well affect that litigation.”
During public comment and later committee discussion, Councilman Layborn urged the committee to focus on resilience and maintenance rather than only legal technicalities. “It’s raining outside. Our winter was, practically nonexistent,” Layborn said, and he urged the committee to account for changing climate patterns when planning and communicating with the public.
A staff presenter identified as Dr. Rene summarized the practical and legislative context. He said two bills had recently failed in the legislature — one that would have required elections for stormwater utilities (retroactive for some municipalities) and another that would have mandated rebates of collected fees — but added that the select committee on water had made stormwater a top interim topic. Dr. Rene told the committee that Laramie refunded one month’s fee under pressure from the legislative debate and that state legislators had indicated willingness to work with municipalities.
Engineer Cobb told the committee the city’s initial project list tied to the fee totaled roughly $112,000,000 based on basin analyses; the Dry Creek basin had been updated and formed part of the basis for early project prioritization. Cobb said the stormwater program was intended to be a sustained, systematic effort rather than a one-time spending plan.
Council debate focused on the trade-offs of showing “good faith” to the state legislature versus maintaining a locally controlled funding mechanism to pay for long-term maintenance and capital needs. Several council members urged caution about relying on the legislature; others said demonstrating responsiveness could secure legislative help. Chief of Staff Amber Ash said the administration would participate in interim legislative discussions and would consider reserve funding to start projects if council chose to do so.
The committee voted on the substitute amendment described by staff (which would either delay implementation until after the next legislative session or, in the amendment’s form presented, repeal the fee ordinance). The chair announced that the substitute passed, with Councilman Wolf recorded as voting no. The committee then returned to the main motion and moved the item forward; the chair said the recommendation to the governing body would be to approve (with Councilman Wolf voting no).
What’s next: The Finance Committee’s recommendation goes to the full governing body at its next meeting for final action. Pending final action, staff said they would continue interim work — analyzing basins, refining project lists and pursuing grant opportunities — and the administration indicated it would continue conversations with the legislature and the select water committee.
Sources and context: Committee staff and witnesses provided the technical and legislative background at the March 3 meeting. The committee recorded a formal vote on the substitute amendment (passed; Councilman Wolf opposed) and recommended the ordinance action for the governing body.
