5.1 INTRODUCTION

One of the critical factors in the success of a stormwater utility fee implementation is the collection of data to support the fee structure and the individual fees for customers. Even with a good justification for establishing the fee, a supporting ordinance and a complete public awareness program, errors in the data collection process can compromise the ability of a municipality to initiate the stormwater utility fee. The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to discuss the data collection process required to support a stormwater utility fee.

This chapter overlaps, to some degree, the information provided in Chapter 4, Utility Rate Structures, because the type of data required for the stormwater utility fee depends largely on the rate structure adopted by the city or county. Inversely, the selection of the rate structure at the onset of a stormwater utility fee may sometimes depend on the data available. As new data become available, the rate structure may mature. Thus, the first section in this chapter considers the type of data required for various types of rate structures.

This chapter also considers data collection methods for each of the types of data. Starting with general principals of data collection (such as quality assurance, schedules, and accuracy), methods that can be used to collect property information, such as impervious and pervious areas and residential units, are discussed. Even though much of the information is collected using paper or digital images and databases, field corroboration is generally encouraged. This chapter also discusses the field data collection methods required for establishing a stormwater utility.

After the stormwater utility fee has been initiated, information regarding each customer must be updated as often as the bills are sent. For example, if the stormwater utility fees are sent with the monthly water utility fees, then changes to pervious and impervious area data should be updated frequently. Because of staff limitations and administrative costs, it is not always possible to re-measure property information each month, so methods of timely and efficient database updates are discussed in this chapter.

The rapid increase in computer technology in recent years has allowed many communities to offer significant geographical information system (GIS) capabilities to the stormwater utility data collection process. As a result, some of the manual data collection methods used in the early 1990s, while still valid, can require labor-intensive efforts, which can be replaced with digital images and visual software. To complete the data collection process, this chapter discusses various types of GIS processes and methods that can be used to speed up the data collection, as well as maintain a record of information for the future.

Finally, the cost of data collection methods is considered. Clearly, if the cost of data collection for a particular type of rate structure is greater than the revenue of the stormwater utility fee, then the rate structure should be reconsidered. The costs will be discussed based upon unit costs (e.g., labor hours per parcel, or price per digital aerial) where appropriate. A worksheet for estimating costs is also provided. This worksheet yields a "ball park" estimate of data collection costs for budgeting purposes.