Brent Batten: Collier County still eyeing stormwater fee for drainage upgrades

You’d hate to say Collier County is pushing its luck but …

Just a week after voters narrowly approved a sales tax increase that will enable a spending spree on roads, parks and other infrastructure, county commissioners will take another look at a controversial stormwater fee that so far has faced significant headwinds.

There’s no thought of approving the fee at Tuesday's commission meeting, but the fact that it is up for discussion so soon after another new tax was approved is bound to raise eyebrows.

The objective, according to a county staff summary of the issue, is to “secure a dedicated funding source that is appropriate and sustainable for the operation, maintenance, and capital needs of the countywide stormwater system; and to provide proper flood control, water quality, and rehydration of aquifers in a manner that protects property values, the environment, and the safety of Collier County citizens and businesses.”

That dedicated source of funding is envisioned as an annual fee on properties based primarily on their impervious surface area.

Previous coverage:Collier commissioners put off stormwater fee proposal until after election

More:Stormwater fee plan put off a year after Collier residents oppose it at hearing

When notices of the proposed fee went out earlier this year, residents, businesses and even churches complained loudly about the fee and the calculations behind it.

That led commissioners to send the idea back for revisions, and those revisions are making their way back to the board now.

One reason for the timing is the statutory requirement of advertising the proposed fee in advance. To get approval in early 2019, legal advertising must begin soon. Moving ahead with the advertising does not obligate the commission to proceed with the fee, the county staff notes.

Based on complaints lodged the last time the public got a chance to weigh in on the fee, county staff have made modifications that they will outline at Tuesday's meeting.

Among them: the concern of large lot owners that they would get hit with a high fee, even though most of the rain falling on their property is contained there, is addressed by limiting the maximum fee for residential property to $192 a year.

Most people will pay $120 a year or less, staff say.

A public outreach effort is underway to educate residents and business owners about the fee. A steering committee should be established and the county’s productivity committee brought into the advisory process, staff say.

Editorial:Don’t give up on Collier stormwater utility

Simple yet complicated

The county faces the conundrum of making the fee both simple to understand and still meeting the legal requirements of official notices.

“As identified early on, intricate credit systems, complicated ratio calculations, and layers of administrative requirements increase confusion.  Any program moving forward must be balanced and fair, but also understandable and reasonable,” the staff report states.

A few paragraphs later, it adds, “The official notice is a statutory requirement, with specific legal language that must be included. This language can be confusing and may cause concern for some property owners.”

To strike a balance, the staff suggests a cover letter accompanying the legally required notice to put things in plain English.

Public schools and government buildings would be assessed a fee, but that fee would be paid by the county through its general fund, staff recommend.

Churches and businesses can receive discounts on the fee if they have water management systems in place. The staff is looking into further discounts for churches, based on their systems' overall benefit to the community.

The just-approved sales tax is expected to bring in $490 million over seven years to help the county and its three incorporated towns pay for infrastructure. 

With all that work to be done, you might think the stormwater fee could wait.

However, County Manager Leo Ochs argues that the needs are immediate, the current system is outdated and property taxes don’t deliver enough money to pay for improvements.

The need is now

“Managing flood control and water quality is a topic of statewide interest,” Ochs wrote in a September letter on the topic.

"The flood concerns from Lake Okeechobee and associated water quality issues are all related to the same challenges: legacy collection and distributions systems that were created in response to development and run counter to natural flow paths and cleansing processes.

"Improved water management systems are vital to maintaining property values, our economy and the protection of our sensitive receiving waters."

Rather than pushing its luck, the staff is simply pushing ahead.

Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com, on Twitter @NDN_BrentBatten and at facebook.com/ndnbrentbatten.