Stormwater Management Fees

[Stephen in SOKY]

Wondered if anyone was paying fees for "Stormwater Management"? Here in my home County we have a newly formed "Office of Stormwater Managment" that has levied a fee of $4 monthly for residential & $10 monthly for businesses. Purportedly mandated by "Federal Clean Water Act Phase II Stormwater Management Program". In our County it is projected to raise slightly in excess of $1 million annually. Is anyone paying this fee? If so, how much? Thanks, Stephen

[Windy in Kansas]

I am accessed a stormwater fee of $1 per month for residential city lots. My home set on 3 partial lots rather than full sized ones, but I doubt that makes any difference.

The majority of fees accessed here are on businesses with large expanses of pavement which shed rain into storm drains.

The money levied here is being used to improve drainage throughout the city--starting with the problem draining spots.

[DAVID In Wisconsin]

This fee is headed our way. Not sure exactly what it will be yet. They are leaning twords a flat $100.00 per year for residential properties and more for commercial.

[Cindy in KY]

My son told me about this here. He lives in town about 20 minutes from us. He said they are going to charge them based on the size of their roofs...??. I had never heard of anything like this here before. Sounds nuts to me, very nuts. Can't they handle paying for anything themselves?

We don't, because we are way out in the country, thus no storm drains. Our rain run off goes right down our steep gravel road and makes rivers to traverse over. We have allot of roofs. 11 or 12.

[Stephen in SOKY]

Well, I'm in Warren County, several miles from town, and the above fees are already in place for me. I could understand the need more in a city or town, but I'm having trouble seeing the benefit to those of us in rural areas?

[Cindy in KY]

Boy I hope not. There are no sewers or storm drains out here. We are 12 miles out. Our "storm water management" is hiring Pop with his tractor and box and putting our driveway back. If I have to pay this fee, then the county should manage my road too. Fair is fair. How did you hear about it? Get a bill?

[Stephen in SOKY]

Actually, I got a delinquent notice informing me I hadn't paid. I've emailed questions & will let you know the responses. Anyone else paying this either directly or hidden within another tax? Bowling Green raised the Occuptional tax rather than join in with the County thereby effectively hiding it. I assume it's nationwide, surely some posters other than those that have responded are paying this?

[edcopp]

Mandated taxation (without any representation). Nobody gets to vote on it, a few do nothing piddly jobs get created. Don't you just love it?

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by edcopp

Mandated taxation (without any representation). Nobody gets to vote on it, a few do nothing piddly jobs get created. Don't you just love it?

Without representation?????? Those voted into office BY THE PEOPLE are the ones that put into affect such plans. You certainly may well not like your representation but you've got it.

[Stephen in SOKY]

Our County Fiscal Court voted the fee on us. It's not the $48 annually, it's that we outside the cities will see little benefit and perhaps be considerably inconvenienced by yet another entity poking around in our business. I'm shocked so few people have responded, I was hoping to hear what others are paying?

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Cindy in KY

Can't they handle paying for anything themselves?

Who is this "they" you are speaking of?

Where I lived it is the residents that are paying for the storm water drainage based on lot assessment, as well as businesses based on their lot sizes. I would say that we, the citizens, are paying for it ourselves.

On a different note, I find a tax based on the size of roofs to be outlandish. What about those that collect the water or disperse it onto their lawns without any runoff? From a barn or farm shed into a pond?

I can easily see it if it were based on roof sizes as well as ground covered over areas such as paved parking lots, driveways, etc. Those that actually channel water into storm drains such as retail stores, manufacturing plants, parking lots, and others that I can't think of at the moment.

[still_renting]

Not that this matters to any of you over in Kentucky, but if anyone is interested I looked up the rates for Snohomish County, which is the county just north of the county Seattle is in.

The annual rate for single family homes is 33.01, for condos it's 29.71, and for farms it's 33.01 per 1/4 acre up to a maximum of 132.04. For retail, industrial, or "other" uses, it's broken up into teirs ranging from Exempt: 0.00, Very Light: 9.90 per 1/4 acre, to Very Heavy: 99.02 per 1/4 acre. It also looks like they've designated certain areas as "Urban Growth Areas" and the rates for these areas is about double the regular rates. Exempt properties include those owned by low income senior citizens and disables persons, and cemeteries owned by public benefit non-profit corporations. State highway land is only subjuct to 30% of the regular rate (this makes little sense to me, since a lot of the nasty stuff that goes into the water comes off the highways ??). Also, properties that have commercial rainwater harvesting systems pay a reduced rate based on the volume of water harvested.

Well perhaps that was more than you wanted to know, but that's what we pay in my area of WA state. Course I don't worry about that, since I'm still renting.

Sonya

[Stephen in SOKY]

Sonya, Thanks very much, that's exactly the info I was interested in.

[kinderfeld]

Originally Posted by Stephen in SOKY

Wondered if anyone was paying fees for "Stormwater Management"? Here in my home County we have a newly formed "Office of Stormwater Managment" that has levied a fee of $4 monthly for residential & $10 monthly for businesses. Purportedly mandated by "Federal Clean Water Act Phase II Stormwater Management Program". In our County it is projected to raise slightly in excess of $1 million annually. Is anyone paying this fee? If so, how much? Thanks, Stephen

They do that in that town next to mine. The mayor used part of it to give himself a raise.

[auctioneer]

In NC the local representatives (LOL) blamed it on the Federal Government making it mandantory they charge it. It is called "the rain tax" here. It is based on public water system usage.

[Cindy in KY]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

Who is this "they" you are speaking of?

The cities, the county. The city of Elizabethtown should pay for it's own water management. There are huge subdivisions springing up everywhere outside of town. All those homeowners pay big property taxes, etc.

And people not on the public water system should not be charged, for crying out loud. We are not on city water, we have a well, which we paid dearly for.

Our water out here runs into ponds, the creeks and sink holes. My 12 acres of pasture absorbs water, it's like a bowl. Plus, our county takes water for the city out of wells not far from here, and selling the water. So, they gonna charge for the runoff, collect it, and sell it again?

[Stephen in SOKY]

Cindy, My water drains to all the same places as yours, I've even placed diversion ditches to collect it. However, this fee has nothing to do with the source of our potable water, it addresses storm (Rain) water. While I think the whole thing is rather absurd for those of us in rural areas, assuming it rains on our farms, we're all subject to the fee. I wonder if you're already paying through an addition on an existing tax? This is not a Kentucky issue, it's a national issue. Thanks & keep the responses coming!

[fantasymaker]

If water ever runs off your place you are contributingto the burden downstream, So ante up some bucks to help them katrina folks out!

[maryeaudet]

We are paying $5 a month residential here for storm water. It isn't like the city atually uses it for that though. There was a big hoop-de-do at city hall a few years ago that the money was being funneled into another area.
We live on 2 acres bordered on one side and in back by a creek..Everything was great until they started over- building down stream..Now all the houses in our area along the creek flood regularly..
I really like the idea of a rain water catchment system to provide water for the hwole house. I doubt that the city would like to see THAT go citywide since they would lose money...but I did research on it and potentially if subdivisions started implementing water catchment a lot of the flooding issues would be solved.
The article is here.Rain Water Catchment System
After the flood that we went through 3 years ago my husband and I began to be pretty radical about this stuff. It was awful, wading through armpit high water at 2 in the morning getting horses out to the road and goats and sheep and chickens in the laundry room.
Anyway, imho if they (our town) really enforced the codes they made to deal with the run-off in commercial sites there would be little problem but they are waiving those codes and fees to encourage business to build...Which in turns adds to the problem of flooding. They would rather tax the residents to death. sorry. I will get down off my high horse now.

[Cindy in KY]

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

If water ever runs off your place you are contributing to the burden downstream

You're joking here right? Meant to be funny?

It rained up here 100 years ago, and water ran into the creeks, streams, groundwater and down into the lakes. If water runs off my place, that means we are getting some much needed rain! And if water runs off my place that means it is filling up everyones wells again. We sit on many underground water streams here, and it needs to be full to function normally. I have one in my back pasture. We will have a big lake after a really heavy rain, and then in a couple days it's gone, down into the underground water tables. Salt river is right down the road and it is used on farms and then goes into Rough River and Nolin Lake, which are low right now. It needs to rain for a month here to get our ground back to normal. It needs to rain for a month here to full up the wells that they suck water out of for the city 12 miles away. They should be re-cycling their car-wash & rain water for use.