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Storm‑drain property fee fails; council directs rework and outreach
Summary
Ballot tabulation showed 1,096 yes and 1,233 no (2,329 parcel votes) on a proposed property‑based storm‑drain fee; the council accepted the results, asked MRUC and staff to review messaging and consider smaller or staggered proposals, and agreed to revisit the issue after further outreach and possibly after the November election.
NBS consultant Sarah Mears reported the tabulation of the property‑based storm‑drain fee election at the Aug. 6 council meeting: of 2,329 parcel votes counted, 1,096 were yes and 1,233 were no — 47.06 percent in favor, short of the majority required under the procedure. "The yes votes totaled 1,096. The no votes totaled 1,233. We had 47.06% of the votes cast, which is not a majority approval," Mears said.
Council members discussed next steps: whether to return to the drawing board with a smaller set of projects, to propose a phased increase the public could accept, or to focus on additional outreach and improved messaging so residents understand which streets and facilities would be improved. Several MRUC members and councilors said the analysis and many of the underlying documents can be reused if the council elects to revisit the measure, but that a revised scope and stronger public outreach will be necessary.
The council adopted a resolution to ratify and tabulate the election results and directed staff and the Municipal Rates & Utilities Committee to review the program, consider scaled alternatives, solicit public feedback on what rate the community would accept, and return with recommendations.
