Title
Public Hearing to Consider Collecting the Water Quality and Flood Protection Fees on the Property Tax Bills; and
Adoption of Resolution Finding [No] Majority Protest and Approving the Continuation and Collection of the Existing 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. (Public Works 26441610)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda's (City) 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee (Fee) establishes that the City Council shall determine any adjustments to the Fee annually and approve collecting the Fee on the annual property tax bills. In addition to determining any adjustments to the Fee, a publicly-noticed hearing must be held each year before the City can use this Fee collection method. Property owners subject to this method of collection have a right to file a written protest, whereby a majority protest can block this method of collection. This hearing and the right to protest do not apply to the Fee itself; this process only applies to the method of collecting the Fee. If a majority protest is formed, the City would still be able to determine any adjustments to and collect the Fee, but it would need to be done through an alternative method such as direct billing.
BACKGROUND
The City's stormwater fee (the Urban Runoff Fee) has been in effect since the early 1990s, prompted by the onset of federal stormwater regulations directed at municipal separate storm/sewer system operations. An assessment of funds collected compared to program expenses, however, showed that the stormwater fund (Fund 264) was running at a $1,000,000 annual deficit and the need for additional revenue for the stormwater fund was becoming more critical each year.
On July 16, 2019, City Council initiated a Proposition 218 process to establish a new Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee (Fee) to augment the Urban Runoff Fee. At the conclusion of the ballot pro...
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