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American Fork staff recommend stormwater base fee rise to $12.50 amid $154 million infrastructure estimate
Summary
Staff proposed implementing the next step in the 2021 stormwater schedule—raising the base fee from $10.50 to $12.50—citing updated infrastructure needs of roughly $154 million over the planning horizon and increased compliance costs under the MS4 permit.
Public Works Director Sam Kelly told the Council the City’s 2021 Stormwater Master Plan initially identified about $57 million in projects but that updated evaluations have increased the estimate to roughly $154 million in total needs, with approximately $130 million inside a ten-year planning window. Staff recommended implementing year five of the previously adopted rate schedule to raise the base stormwater fee from $10.50 to $12.50.
Kelly said the city must meet state MS4 stormwater-permit requirements that drive inspection and maintenance workloads, including roughly 6,600 inlets, 1,200 sumps, 2,800 manholes and 115 discharge-point inspections. The stormwater fund currently has over $5 million in fund balance, but staff said that is insufficient for the scale of needed improvements and ongoing regulatory obligations.
Council discussed communicating rate drivers to residents (clarifying increases address existing infrastructure and regulatory compliance, not primarily growth) and whether to present increases as part of a single meeting covering multiple utilities. Mayor Frost and staff agreed the open house could present consolidated impacts while keeping technical details available. No formal action was taken at the work session.
Ending: Staff will implement the previously adopted schedule’s year-five increase unless a future rate study indicates otherwise and will present materials to the public as part of upcoming outreach.
