Stormwater Fee to Appear on Tax Bills

When Duluth residents open their tax bills in September, they will see a new charge – a stormwater utility fee – on it. For owners of single-family detached homes, the fee will be about $36 a year based on one ERU (equivalent residential unit) representing 2,654 square feet of impervious surface area.

The fees were recommended by Ecological Solutions, the consultant hired by the city to assist with developing a stormwater management master plan (SWMP) and implementing the stormwater utility. The Duluth City Council adopted an ordinance establishing the stormwater utility and a fee schedule at its Monday (June 13) regular meeting.

The fee schedule adopted by the city follows:

• Most detached single-family residential parcels (1 ERU) shall be billed $36 per year.
• Most attached single-family residential parcels (.4 ERU) shall be billed $14.40 per year.
• Non-single family residential parcels shall be billed on a parcel specific basis based on the actual amount of impervious surface area at a billing rate of $36 per year for each increment of 2,654 square feet of impervious surface area.
• Detached single-family residential parcels with 7,962 square feet or more of impervious area shall be billed via the non-single family residential calculation method.
• Undeveloped parcels and those with less than 500 square feet of impervious area shall not be billed.

Impervious surface areas, such as concrete driveways and paved parking lots, cause water to run off instead of being absorbed by the ground. The runoff has to be managed to prevent erosion and flooding. Stormwater user fees will appear on city of Duluth property tax bills for the first time in September 2011 and then continue on an annual basis. 

The 2010 Citizens Budget Committee recommended the city investigate the feasibility of adopting a stormwater utility. Adoption of the ordinance and fee schedule followed a series of public meetings and workshops over the past nine months conducted by Ecological Solutions and the city.

“Even though we’ve held meetings and workshops,” City Councilwoman Marsha Bomar said, “we need to provide additional education for those who have not been plugged into the process. This is a significant change for the city. We certainly don’t want any of our citizens to be shocked when they see the new line item on their tax bills. 

Mayor Nancy Harris explained that funds generated by the stormwater utility will be utilized for infrastructure maintenance and repair as well as regulatory compliance and administrative activities mandated by the state.

 Public Hearing on FY2012 Budget

City Administrator Phil McLemore conducted a public hearing on the proposed FY2012 city budget totaling $31,463,416. The budget, which is about $10 million less than the officially adopted FY2011 budget, required the city to use $2.875 million in reserve funds to balance revenue and expenditures. The new budget is slated to be adopted by the council in a called meeting June 27 and go into effect July 1.

Developing the budget was again challenging because the city faced a decline in revenue for the third year in a row, McLemore said. “We’ve tried to keep the budget as low as possible and not reduce services,” he said. The proposed budget reflects cuts by department heads and recommendations from this year's Citizens Budget Committee. No tax millage increase is anticipated by the city.

 McClure Bridge Road/Roundabout Contract 

The council awarded the contract for McClure Bridge Road improvements to Georgia Development Partners in the amount of $1.4 million. The project includes slight widening, rebuilding and paving of McClure Bridge Road from Pleasant Hill Road to Glancy Rehabilitation Center, installation of drainage, curb and gutter and sidewalks on both sides of the road, according to Duluth Planning Director Glenn Coyne.

Georgia Development Partners also was selected to construct a roundabout that will connect a proposed Hospital Connector, McClure Bridge Road, Irvindale Road and West Lawrenceville Street on the basis of a bid of $691,145. Due to ongoing negotiations for right-of-way and a possible review of the budget for the project, construction of the roundabout is being postponed at this time.

Friendship Baptist Church Rezoning

Rezoning requested by Friendship Baptist Church for three parcels located at or around 3375 Church Street for future church development and expansion was approved by the council. The Duluth Planning Commission had recommended approval of the rezoning from RM (multi-family residential) to O-I (office institutional) with conditions. There was no opposition to the rezoning.