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Fitchburg committee reviews stormwater utility structure as rising construction costs prompt rate review
Summary
City staff told the Resource Conservation Committee that the stormwater utility, created to meet MS4 obligations, may need a rate increase to cover higher construction and maintenance costs; single-family fees are based on a 3,700-sq-ft equivalent runoff unit and any change will return to council for formal approval.
At its June 8 meeting, the Resource Conservation Committee heard a detailed review of Fitchburg's stormwater utility and early planning for a potential rate adjustment to cover rising construction and maintenance costs.
City staff opened the discussion by reminding members why the utility exists. "This is from the ordinance ... it was created in the 2001 or 2002 time frame," the staff member said, adding that the utility provides consistent funding for storm-sewer pipes, ponds, infiltration basins and other storm infrastructure. Staff noted the last rate increase occurred in 2021 and that construction and contract prices have risen since then.
The staff member walked commissioners through how rates are calculated. Single-family parcels are charged a flat fee tied to one equivalent runoff unit (ERU). "It was determined that that average amount is about 3,700 square feet of impervious," the staff member said. Non-residential properties are billed by measured impervious area, with an "intensity of development" multiplier applied to parcels with very high impervious cover.
Officials described how that translates to users: single-family accounts in the urban service area currently pay a combination of a citywide base rate plus an urban-service-area base and intensity charge that together average roughly $104 per year; rural single-family accounts pay only the citywide base (about $60 per year). Staff said the urban-service-area boundary is generally where curbed streets and municipal sanitary sewer service are present.
Commissioners asked about exemptions, credits and how to encourage green infrastructure. Staff replied there are no blanket exemptions (for example worship organizations are not exempt), but the ordinance includes a credit application process for property owners who install qualifying stormwater measures such as porous pavement, rain gardens or privately built basins. "There is a credit application'that businesses or even individuals can complete to get a slight rate reduction," the staff member said, and the committee discussed refreshing the credit policy to make incentives more meaningful.
Committee members pressed on process and transparency. Unlike investor-owned water utilities, stormwater and sanitary utilities do not go to the Public Service Commission for rate approval; any proposed change will come back to the RCC and the Board of Public Works before appearing on the council agenda. Staff framed the current work as a rate-study phase to identify options that avoid a single large increase and spread needed adjustments over time.
Next steps: staff will continue refining the numbers and options, including credit-policy revisions and targeted outreach to urban and rural customers. Any concrete proposal will be published and brought before the committee and council for formal consideration.
The committee did not vote on rates at the meeting; staff emphasized the discussion was an informational step toward a future ordinance and council action.
