Corinth council raises stormwater fee; residential charge to go from $6 to $7 monthly

The Corinth City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 26-05-07-14 on a proposal to raise the city’s stormwater utility fee, increasing the residential equivalent residential unit (ERU) charge from $6 to $7 per month and raising commercial ERU billing to $8 per month.

Leanne Bunzelmeyer, identified in the meeting as the city’s director of finance and strategic services, told the council the fund has not kept pace with rising costs since the last rate change in 2011. Bunzelmeyer said the recommended change would generate approximately $268,000 in the first year, about $343,000 in the second year and about $430,000 in 2029, and would allow the city to set aside roughly $350,000 a year for capital drainage projects so those projects can be paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis rather than financed with long-term debt. "We are recommending to raise a residential fee from $6 a month to $7 and then your commercial fee from $6 a month to $8," Bunzelmeyer said.

Bunzelmeyer explained the fee is tied to the property’s impervious area measured by ERUs (one ERU is defined in the presentation as 3,900 square feet). She said current annual revenue is about $794,000 and that projected growth assumptions (roughly 7–9% in coming years) are built into the rate study. The presentation noted that without the fee increase the city could either delay capital projects or shift the cost into the general fund and property taxes.

No members of the public addressed the council during the public hearing. After the presentation and a brief period for council questions, a council member moved to approve the ordinance as presented; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

The ordinance amends the municipal stormwater utility fee schedule; staff said the new rates should make the fund sustainable for operations and planned capital repairs by about 2030. The city will proceed with implementing the fee change as adopted.