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City manager says 'halt' to the stormwater fee Kicker: Reckoning
of controversial fund could follow By Miranda Bryant August 25, 1999 Sometimes owning one's responsibilities requires unusual measures.
In the city's case, it may mean temporarily suspending collection
of stormwater utility fees Port Townsend residents must pay. The idea was first floated by the elected officials at a recent study session. "Everybody's jaws dropped," said Timmons. While the fee is under suspension, if the City Council approves such a measure, the city will prepare a reckoning of the stormwater utility fund. The reckoning will delineate the fund balance, past expenditures, and future expected expenses. A City Council discussion about the appropriateness of the fee will likely follow, indicated Timmons. The new city manager acknowledged the unorthodoxy of his recommendation. It is warranted, he said, due to the vast number of citizen complaints during past years about the utility fee charged for stormwater services. "People don't understand it, and people have to understand what they're investing in," said Timmons. The city began charging a stormwater fee of property owners in 1987 as a means of creating and operating a drainage system. The fee is based on the number of square feet on any given property of impervious surfaces, or areas which do not let water pass through the ground. Considered in this category are driveways and ground areas covered by a home or other structures. Today the fee is $6 per month for 3,000 square feet or less. For larger areas, the square footage is divided by 3,000 and then multiplied by $6. The fee is charged of all property owners, even though storm drains may not be on or near a particular property. The charges are for construction and maintenance of the entire citywide system. But the unique stormwater system in Port Townsend has resulted in confusion. Instead of constructing multi-million dollar pipes and pumps to treat and retain water runoff from developed lands, the city has purchased or improved ponds, wetlands and drainage corridors. Relying on nature itself, augmented by a few pipes, is more cost effective and environmentally friendly, said Public Works officials. Examples are Kah Tai Lagoon, the golf course pond, the "swamp" west of Blue Heron Middle School, and Chinese Gardens. Winona Wetland, that bog/swamp/pond off Cook Avenue, is also important. Here, runoff is slowed down, and the water filtered through natural vegetation, settling on leaf compost. However, a pond hardly resembles a treatment system. Tradition would have it that people want to point to something more tangible - pipes and concrete structures - to justify the monthly fee they must pay. Exacerbating the public's skepticism about the necessity of the stormwater fee were two situations. Many runoff problem areas in the city, including some that have led to messy sewerage back-ups in homes, have not been fixed. And, previous members of the City Council allowed the stormwater utility fund to lend money to other city fund budgets short of cash. More than a year ago, after hearing repeated complaints about the stormwater fee voiced to the City Council, Public Works Director Bob Wheeler suggested that the city prepare a reckoning of the fund. That was never done. Timmons, hired earlier this summer, wasn't on the job long before he caught word of the complaints. Through his indoctrination into this city's government, Timmons became impressed with the foresight in treating stormwater through natural means. Many communities throughout the country struggle with stormwater issues; Port Townsend has gotten ahead of it, he said. The method utilized here is expensive in the short term, due to land acquisition, but may save millions in the long term. Unfortunately, he said, that message has been lost. The city manager said he recently addressed one citizen's concerns by reminding the person that water flows downhill, so stormwater work must begin at the bottom and work its way up. Curbs and gutters can't be built until there's a place for the water to flow to, hence Port Townsend's investment in ponds and wetland filtration. If the council takes Timmons' advice to temporarily suspend the stormwater fee, the council can later reinstate or amend it. Repealing it is not a valid option, he said, because the water runoff issue remains and must be addressed. But until customers can be assured that the formula by which the fee is derived is valid, the fee should be shelved, he said. "If we keep collecting the fee while we debate that issue, it's
just going to annoy people," he said. "So I think it would
just be safer to suspend it until we get that dialogue and that reckoning
done." |