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 sixth briefing on the Storm Water Utility Fee Comprehensive Study. Staff previously briefed the Infrastructure and Growth Committee about this item on March 18, 2015. Final recommendations to full Council will be provided as part of 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 Sewer System (MS4) Permit. The utility fee, last increased in FY 2008, is currently based on lot size and land use.
While discussing a proposed 11.8% increase of the fee during the FY 2013 budget presentation, Councilmembers raised concerns about the cost allocation of the fee's tier structure. Staff was asked to examine the existing fee structure in FY 2013 and to provide recommendations during the FY 2014 budget process.
Retained in FY 2013, Kimley-Horn and Associates (Kimley-Horn) evaluated and benchmarked the current Storm Water Utility Fee structure and recommended that the City 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 was 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 as the basis of the...
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