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Council hears five-year stormwater plan recommending small monthly fee increases
Summary
Consultants told Coppell City Council the stormwater utility faces roughly $29 million in projects through 2031 and recommended a modest $0.25 monthly increase each year for five years to preserve debt-service coverage and funding flexibility; council asked staff about debt vs. cash funding and impacts on commercial tiers.
Consultant Matthew Garrett of NewGen Strategies presented a five-year update to Coppell’s drainage utility (stormwater) rate study, saying the plan anticipates about $29,000,000 of projects through 2031 and recommends a modest increase of $0.25 per month each year for five years.
"We would recommend 25¢ on the rate, which is currently $5 per month for each residential account," Garrett said, explaining the increase is intended to maintain debt service coverage and provide options to debt‑finance or cash‑fund capital needs. Garrett added the study assumes modest growth—about 70 new residential billable properties and 115 new commercial accounts over five years—and applies municipal cost and earthwork inflation indices to cost estimates.
Council members probed assumptions behind the projection, asking whether estimates were internal or vendor quotes and how a full cash‑funding approach would affect reserves. A council member asked whether the $29 million figure had been shared with vendors; staff replied the figure is an internal planning estimate but that consultants’ independent estimates align with it. Garrett said the proposed $0.25 annual per‑month increase would keep the utility on track to satisfy a 1.25 debt‑service coverage target through 2031 under the plan scenario.
The presentation also compared Coppell’s current fee structure with neighboring cities and noted that banded tiering yields different per‑square‑foot outcomes for large commercial properties: the top tier is capped at $1,500 per month. No formal action was taken in the workshop; staff said they would return with a resolution and updates to the master fee schedule for formal consideration.
Next steps: staff will return with a resolution and draft master fee schedule reflecting the council’s direction; council did not vote on rates at this meeting.
