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City’s water superintendent outlines proposed stormwater utility and draft fees
Summary
City water‑quality superintendent Chelsea Mandigo told the council the proposed stormwater utility would charge by equivalent residential units (1 ERU = 2,823 sq ft of impervious area) and that the draft ERU rate is $72.69; staff said the city lacks prior capital funding after separating from the town and will hold a follow‑up public hearing Dec. 11.
Chelsea Mandigo, the city’s water‑quality superintendent, told the council during a public hearing that the proposed stormwater utility would create a dedicated enterprise fund to pay for stormwater compliance and capital projects. She said the median impervious area used to define one equivalent residential unit (ERU) is 2,823 square feet and described a draft ERU charge of $72.69. “We hired a consultant for aerial imagery analysis and found the median impervious area in the city is 2,823 square feet, so that is what one equivalent unit will equal,” Mandigo said. “That rate and the credit program are drafts and will be reviewed in further hearings.”
Mandigo explained the utility would move stormwater capital costs out of the general fund and onto a user fee structure similar to water and wastewater: “Stormwater has been funded through the general fund and property taxes; a utility is a fair and equitable way to bring tax‑exempt properties into the funding stream,” she said. Council members pressed staff on the scale of unmet capital needs; staff said the department is underfunded and identified roughly $500,000 in stormwater projects that need to be advanced to meet permit obligations. Staff also told the council that the FY25 general‑fund stormwater budget line is about $230,000 and that the utility’s budget will be larger once capital work is included.
Mandigo summarized how non‑single‑family commercial parcels would be measured and how credits would work. The credit manual would allow credits up to 50% for qualifying stormwater treatment practices, with a 35% cap retained for certain state‑permitted MS4/TS4 entities per state rules; credits must be recertified every two years. She also said staff will meet with large ERU recipients to review bills and credits, and that the council will hold another public hearing on Dec. 11 before the city sets a final ERU rate in January. The council did not adopt the ordinance package tonight and directed staff to return with additional information at the Dec. 11 hearing.
