Council votes in favor of Mayor’s stormwater fee structure

Following another heated debate, Metro Council chose Mayor Karl Dean’s proposed stormwater fee structure over one introduced by Councilman Jason Holleman at a special meeting on water reform legislation on Tuesday.

The Council then proceeded to vote for the proposed bill, which will raise water and sewer rates and introduced a first-ever stormwater fee. Although the bill was only on second reading, it is virtually impossible to amend a bill on third reading.

The bill will be on third reading at the March 17 Council meeting.

Water rates will go up 5 percent and sewer rates will rise 9 percent beginning May 1. The first ever stormwater fee will begin July 1.

It was on the issue of the stormwater fee that Council again found itself divided.

Dean proposed a tiered fee structure that would top out at $400 for the largest property owners in Davidson County. Holleman introduced an amendment last week that proposed an Estimated Residential Unit (ERU) structure that would charge $3 per every 3,200 square feet of impervious surface within a property.

Holleman said his amendment was based on the notion that the more a property owner paves, the more they pay for the stormwater fee. His amendment failed with a 24-14 vote.

Afterwards, Holleman said it was possible the issue could be brought up again in the future, but he maintained his opposition to the tiered structure, calling it susceptible to a legal challenge.

Tennessee code states users must be charged a stormwater fee based on actual or estimated use. Holleman pointed out that Nashville would become the only city in the state to use a tiered fee structure.

But in some instances, property owners with equal amounts of impervious surface actually will pay different stormwater fees. Under Holleman’s proposal, the largest property owners would pay as much as $5,000 monthly.

Metro Finance Director Richard Riebeling said the administration welcomed the debate created by Holleman’s proposal. But, Riebeling added that the current economic climate came into consideration when the administration pondered the appropriate fee for the largest land owners in the county.

Riebeling said the administration didn't want to impose unnecessarily large fees on corporations who are facing difficult economic times.

“It’s exciting to see the Council and the administration all came together in the sense that this is something that’s important for our community,” Riebeling said.

The stormwater fee will create dedicated funding to cure a backlog of thousands of projects that have been delayed in recent years. A $50 million capital plan for stormwater will be incorporated by the fee.

Additionally, there will be $500 million in capital projects to improve outdated water and sewer infrastructure some of which dates back to the 1800s.

How they voted

The 24-14 vote on Holleman’s amendment:

Opposed: Baker, Barry, Burch, Cole, Coleman, Craddock, Dominy, Duvall, Forkum, Foster, Garrett, Gotto, Hodge, Jernigan, Langster, Matthews, McGuire, Murray, Page, Ryman, Steine, Todd, Toler, Tygard

In favor: Bennett, Claiborne, Crafton, Evans, Gilmore, Harrison, Holleman, Hunt, Jameson, Maynard, Mitchell, Moore, Stanley, Wilhoite

Click here to see Richard Riebeling's letter defending the new fee.