DEPARTMENT: Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI)
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mike Frisbie
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Storm Water Utility Fee Comprehensive Study Briefing
SUMMARY:
Transportation and Capital Improvements (TCI) will provide its fifth briefing on the Storm Water Utility Fee Comprehensive Study. The Department delivered its fourth update to this Council Committee in June 2014 and will continue to provide periodic updates with final recommendations to be included in the FY 2016 Proposed Budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Storm Water Utility Fee was established by City Council in 1993 to fund various storm water management and operational services related to the Municipal Separate Storm Water Sewer System (MS4) Permit. The fee is currently based on lot size and land use and was last increased in FY 2008.
While discussing a proposed 11.8% increase of the fee during TCI's FY 2013 budget presentation, concerns were raised on the cost allocation of the fee's tier structure. TCI was asked to examine the existing fee structure in FY 2013 and to provide recommendations during the FY 2014 budget process.
Retained by TCI in FY 2013, Kimley-Horn and Associates (Kimley-Horn) evaluated and benchmarked the current Storm Water Utility Fee structure and recommended that the City of San Antonio move to a fee structure based on impervious cover; a structure consistent with 55 of 91 Texas municipalities surveyed including Houston, Austin, Ft. Worth, Amarillo, and El Paso. As a result of the FY 2013 pilot study, a $590,000 improvement was included in the FY 2014 Budget to complete a comprehensive study of the Storm Water Utility Fee. The goal of the FY 2014 comprehensive study is to produce data to migrate the existing fee structure based on lot size and land use to a model based on impervious cover. Kimley-Horn has since completed development and analysis of the impervious cover data which will be used...
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