Title
Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Initiative;
Adoption of Resolution Finding that a Majority Protest Does [Not] Exist, Directing a Property Owner Ballot Proceeding for the City's 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee and Directing the City Manager to Vote "Yes" for City Owned Parcels; and
Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Adding Article IV to Chapter 18 to Establish the Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee. (Public Works 351)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda's (City) stormwater fund is failing to keep up with the significant operations, capital, and regulatory requirements of the stormwater system. The City's risk in maintaining an out-of-date stormwater system is only compounded by rising sea levels and more frequent, intense storms.
The City's existing stormwater fee has remained flat at approximately $56 annually per single-family home for nearly fifteen years. As a result, the stormwater fund is depleted and has been incurring annual deficit spending since Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-15. Without additional revenue, the City will be forced to eliminate and/or significantly cut its street sweeping and storm drain maintenance programs. Similarly, the adopted FY 2019-21 budget included $0 in stormwater funds for new capital improvements because there is no money available in the fund for this work.
On July 16, 2019, the City Council took the first of two legally required steps to have property owners decide whether to adopt a new stormwater fee. The City Council directed staff to mail a notice to all recorded owners of affected parcels notifying them of an October 1, 2019, public hearing on a proposed 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee. The proposed additional fee for a residence on a medium sized parcel, which is the most common type of property owned in the City, would be $78 annually.
At the clos...
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