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Stanfiec <br />CITY OF ELK RIVER -STORM WATER UTILITY <br />STORM WATER UTILITY <br />June 25, 2012 <br />3.6 PURPOSE OF A STORM WATER UTILITY <br />A storm water utility is generally considered a more equitable mechanism for funding storm <br />water improvement projects because the charge is based upon the amount of runoff generated <br />from a property. Thus the area of impervious surface coincides to the volume of storm water <br />generated from a property. The larger the property's buildings and parking lots therefore <br />increased volume of storm water resulting in increased cost to provide water quality treatment. <br />Municipalities create storm water utilities so that dedicated funds are available to operate, <br />maintain, manage, construct or reconstruct their municipal storm water drainage systems. A <br />storm water utility fee is a dedicated revenue source intended to alleviate the burden on general <br />funds. Essentially, the storm water utility fee is identical to a water or sanitary sewer utility fee, in <br />which the utility's users finance the utility's infrastructure costs. <br />The storm water utility fee is not associated in any way with property value, property taxes, or <br />the owner's income. Storm water utility fees are also applied to tax exempt properties like <br />churches, schools, and government -all of whom use the municipal storm water system. <br />Storm water utility fees have been a popular avenue for many cities throughout Minnesota to <br />offset the increased costs that come with storm water regulations. Table 3 shows various cities <br />similar in size to or in the vicinity of Elk River that have storm water utility fees in place. The <br />majority of these cities has had this fee in place for the last several years and generate from <br />$270,000 to $3,000,000 in revenue per year. This information is from a 2012 survey conducted <br />by the Minnesota Cities Storm Water Coalition (MCSC). <br />Seventy-six Cities' that completed the survey have implemented a storm water utility fee. The <br />maximum monthly storm water utility fee that is currently being implemented is the City of <br />Bloomington at $15.78 per residential property per month. Fifty-six cities responding to the <br />survey have a monthly fee greater than $3 per month. <br />©ne Team.lnfinote Sa~utions. <br />Project No. 193802143 3.10 <br />