By Will Jones, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
Feb. 9--RICHMOND, Va. -- A coalition of churches, businesses and nonprofit groups pleaded with the Richmond City Council and Mayor Dwight C. Jones tonight to repeal the city's new stormwater utility fee, which is costing the organizations, in some cases, thousands of dollars per year.
Nick Eubank, of Eubank Trucks Inc. on Hopkins Road, said he might have to lay off three or four of his 14 employees to pay his stormwater bill of about $10,000.
"Washington wants us to add people," he said, referring to the federal stimulus program, "but that's not going to be possible in Richmond."
The council approved the stormwater fee last year to provide a dedicated source of revenue for hundreds of drainage projects and maintenance throughout the city that had been covered to a lesser degree by the city's general fund.
The fee, expected to generate $7.8 million annually, is based on the size of a property's "impervious surfaces" -- rooftops, parking lots and driveways -- that cause water to runoff rather than to soak into the ground. Unlike real-estate taxes, the fee applies to all property owners, including governments and churches.
Charles Gilbert, of the Acca Temple on Hermitage Road, said his group was billed about $6,500 by the city. He said that makes little sense, particularly because he said the property drains into Henrico County. "How can you assess a nonprofit organization when the water doesn't go to your facilities?"
After listening to those and similar concerns from leaders of several churches, Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell said council members weren't told that businesses, churches and nonprofit groups would have to pay such high fees. She said the emphasis was on the $25 to $70 that homeowners would pay. "This is not right," she said, calling for repeal.
Jones promised to listen to concerns about the fee and to have the city accept installment payments, but he also said the pushback comes as the city is facing budget shortfalls, not surpluses. While the city can decide whether or not to impose the fee, it cannot escape the mandates to meet federal water-quality standards, officials said.
If the fee were abolished, officials added that Richmond would likely have to raise its real-estate tax rate by 4 cents to make up the lost revenue, meaning homeowners would pay more than their fair share for stormwater cleanup.
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Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.
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