City council discusses possible stormwater utility bill
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – This week's heavy rain triggered flooding across Savannah, once again raising concerns about the city's drainage system.
The ongoing problem has city leaders considering creating a new utility charge. The city's Water Resource Department said managing and improving the pipes comes with a hefty price tag and that they need help paying for maintenance. They presented a possible solution to Mayor Van Johnson and the City Council, the Stormwater Utility User Fee Bill.
"As a user fee-based system, so similar to what we have in water, sewer and sanitation, those fees are dedicated to the stormwater program budget, just as the water and sewer fees are dedicated to water and sewer operations," Ronald Feldner, chief of water resources said.
He told Mayor Johnson and the Council that the bill would be based on the amount of stormwater runoff a household contributes to the stormwater system. The department said this concept has been around for close to 25 years. According to the department, 7 nearby cities use this method. In Garden City, a single residential property pays $4.75 a month. Feldner said that serves as the basis.
"We can keep playing it by happenstance, through general fund," Mayor Johnson said. "But I think we're all very clear that that's just not the long route to be able to take care of this. We're always playing catch-up. We're never really investing in any major way."
