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Council orders broad review of stormwater utility fees, credits and HOA agreements
Summary
After extended debate about equity, credits and the fund’s capacity to pay for capital projects, Lake Elmo directed a comprehensive stormwater utility review and asked Bolton & Menk for a proposal to evaluate charge methodology, classifications and credits.
The Lake Elmo City Council directed staff and consultants to undertake a comprehensive review of the city’s stormwater utility fee system after an extended discussion about equity, HOA responsibilities and whether utility revenue should pay for capital projects.
Miss Miller introduced the item and said the city engineer had previously outlined the scope. Council members highlighted multiple concerns: the current residential classification does not distinguish small lots from large, some homeowners pay the same fee despite differing impervious area, long‑standing discounted stormwater fees need review, and HOA stormwater‑pond maintenance can place an additional financial burden on some residents.
Council member Greg Dragosic pressed for a broad study rather than a narrow update: "We have a house in the old village... it's on 2 tenths of an acre and it's 900 square feet. We got a house in another development that's 10,000 square feet... They both pay the same fee. That's not fair to our residents," he said, arguing for an RFP that addresses equity, HOA agreements, credits and funding for capital improvements.
City engineer Nate (speaker 11) described the current calculation methodology and said the scope before the council focused on fee calculation methodology and land‑use categories; he confirmed that credits and some other items were not in the narrow scope but could be researched. Staff said some pieces (appeals, discounted customers) are already being addressed internally and could be synthesized with consultant work.
After debate and a failed amendment, the council adopted a motion directing Bolton & Menk to propose work on the charge system and classifications for fairness and equity, while directing finance staff to continue work on funding for stormwater capital projects, appeals and income‑based credits and to return with recommendations on HOA agreements.
