Title
Adoption of Resolution Certifying the Ballot Tabulation Results for the 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee Initiative; and
Final Passage of Ordinance Adding Article IV to Chapter 18 of the Municipal Code, and Ordering Levies of the 2019 Water Quality and Flood Protection Fee for Fiscal Year 2020-21, as Approved by a Majority of Votes in Favor of the Fee Submitted by Property Owners. (Public Works 351)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda's (City) Urban Runoff Fund (Fund) has failed 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 The City's risk in maintaining an out-of-date stormwater system is only compounded by rising sea levels and more frequent, intense storms. Revenues to the Fund come from the City's existing stormwater fee, which has remained at approximately $56 annually per single-family home for nearly 15 years, while costs have increased significantly. As a result, the 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.
On July 16, 2019 and October 1, 2019, the City Council took action to provide property owners the opportunity to decide whether to adopt a new stormwater 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. Ballots for the Water Quality and Flood Protection Initiative were mailed to all recorded property owners of affected parcels on October 11, 2019, and returned to the City Clerk on or before the deadline of 6:00 p.m. on November 25, 2019. Tabulation was done under the supervision of the City Clerk on November 26, 2019.
The results showed that a majority of the ballots cast, 57%, were in favor of the new...
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