The Cleveland City Council held the first of two public hearings concerning the stormwater utility fee that is proposed to increase Jan. 1, 2016 to pay for flooding and drainage projects within city boundaries. The Council will have a second public hearing April 27 at 3 p.m. in the Municipal Building at 190 Church Street N.E.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will report its findings this summer after conducting an 18-month survey of 26 miles of South Mouse Creek and 42 miles of Candies Creek. The Council paid $575,000 as their share of the $1.15 million flood-risk management study.
More information will be released as details emerge.
Cleveland Development and Engineering Services Director Jonathan Jobe said, "This is not something we want to do. It's something that was forced on us."
The stormwater fee is the result of federal mandate under the Clean Water Act. In an Opinion No. 12-96 from the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General dated Oct. 9, 2012 states in part, "There is no express provision in the federal Clean Water Act regarding the setting and charging of stormwater fees. However, the State of Tennessee is required to comply with the regulations found in the Clean Water Act, including regulations related to municipal stormwater discharges. As a result, Tennessee Code Ann. §§ 68-221-1101 to -1113 expressly authorize Tennessee municipalities to regulate stormwater discharges, operate stormwater and flood control facilities and set a graduated stormwater fee in order to at least partially fund compliance with these provisions."
The city of Cleveland began collecting $1 on residences and $2 on businesses in July 2014 to pay for the study. The stormwater fee is included with utility billing as a separate line item, but it is not a fee assessed by Cleveland Utilities.
A new stormwater fee structure is included in the proposed fiscal year 2016 Budget. The new budget year begins July 1. However, the stormwater fee will remain at $1 and $2 until Jan. 1, 2016 when a new fee structure takes effect to fund stormwater projects identified by the Army Corps of Engineers. Recommended measures could include channel modifications, building walls, clearing waterways, bridge replacement, water diversion, and detention and retention ponds, as well as structure buyouts and drainage projects.
The proposed fee structure is based on the average impervious area of a Single Family Unit. Impervious areas include everything under roof, concrete and asphalt surfaces that do not absorb rainwater.
The average home in Cleveland has 3,827 square feet of impervious area, which equals one SFU. If the proposed stormwater fee is approved by the Council, small homes with less than 1,775 square feet will see a stormwater fee of $1.65. Homes with impervious areas between 1,776 and 5,900 square feet will pay $3.25 and homes greater than 5,901 square feet of impervious area will pay $4.90. The Council asked for the tiered structure to not overburden people on fixed incomes.
Non single-family properties: apartment complexes with five or more units will see a monthly fee of $1.30 per unit; townhomes, $1.30; duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes, $1.65; and mobile homes, $2.30.
Non-residents will be charged based on the same SFU of 3,827 square feet. A business with 30,525 square feet of impervious area will pay $26 monthly based on the formula: 30,525 ÷ 3,827 square feet = 8 × $3.25 = $26.
Some of the fees can be offset through credits for reducing the amount of stormwater leaving a property by installing abatement measures, such as retention or detention ponds. The credit policy will be developed by the city's stormwater consultant.