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7.3 SOME EXAMPLES OF LOCAL STORMWATER PROGRAMS Perhaps to the best way to gain an understanding of how some of Florida's local governments are addressing the variety of their stormwater needs would be to look at how they address these functions internally and how they are funded. 7.3.1 City of Kissimmee (Population 37,000) Organization The City of Kissimmee Public Works and Engineering Department performs vital functions regarding the city's infrastructure. The Department consists of six main divisions listed below:
Funding The City of Kissimmee funds its stormwater functions through the general revenue fund of the City. 7.3.2 City of Orlando (Population 165,000) Organization The City of Orlando has a matrix organization with some stormwater functions being handled by other units within the Public Works Department that is shown in Figure 7-1 below. Figure 7-1 City of Orlando's Public Works Organization The Stormwater Utility is a Bureau within the Public Works Department and has the responsibility to:
Click here to see Bureau example Funding The matrix organization allows the stormwater utility to charge fees for stormwater services and pay the appropriate Public Works unit for theses services. Administration and finance activities are funded likewise.
7.3.3 Dade County (population 2,046,000;
1,760,000 unincorporated)
Organization The Stormwater Utility
operates and maintains the public stormwater management system throughout
unincorporated Miami-Dade County. The Miami-Dade County Department of
Environmental Resources Management, in conjunction with the Public Works
Department of Miami-Dade County, is responsible for most of the public
storm sewers in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. The Stormwater organization
consists of three sections:
Funding The Stormwater Utility
is supported by user fees, which are to be used only for the management,
maintenance, and improvement of the public stormwater system. Specifically,
user fees are paid by the owner, tenant, or occupant of developed property
pursuant to Miami-Dade County Ordinance 91-120. (The Code defines "developed
property" to mean "any parcel of land which contains an impervious area.")
In this way, the costs of addressing the pollution and flooding problems
of stormwater run-off are associated with the sources, which are the
impervious areas of developed properties. The Stormwater Utility
fee rate is based upon a standard, which is referred to as an "equivalent
residential unit" (ERU). The Stormwater Utility fee rate, set by
Administrative Order 4-87, is $2.00 per month, per ERU in unincorporated
Miami-Dade County. That is the basis of the utility billing system. Billing is divided into
two categories: residential properties and nonresidential properties.
(For purposes of the Stormwater Utility, a residential property has
a room or group of rooms located within a building which is wholly or
partly used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and
eating and forms a single habitable unit with facilities used or intended
to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and eating. Further definitions
are provided in the code section cited earlier.) All residential units are
charged the user fee rate for one ERU. In other words, the stormwater
utility user fee of $2.00 per month applies to each residence; for example,
to each single-family home, each condominium, each apartment, each half
of a duplex, each townhouse, or to each mobile home. On the other hand, nonresidential
properties are charged a user fee that is specific for the actual, calculated,
impervious area of the nonresidential developed property. The fee is
determined by applying this formula: calculate the impervious area of
the parcel of land; divide it by 1,548 square feet, which is the value
assigned to one ERU. Multiply the answer by the rate for one ERU ($2.00).
The result is the monthly fee for that nonresidential property. Billing is accomplished
in either one of two ways. In the first case, the stormwater utility
fee may appear as a line item on the monthly, or quarterly, statement
issued by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. For those residential
bills that are rendered quarterly, the fee will also be computed quarterly:
$2.00 per month for three months equals $6.00 per quarter. Most of the residential
and nonresidential property in Miami-Dade County is served by the Miami-Dade
Water and Sewer Department for water and/or sewer service. However,
in the second case, for those parcels of developed property, either
residential or nonresidential, that are not served by the Water and
Sewer Department, individual bills shall be sent directly by the Stormwater
Utility. 7.3.4 City of Cocoa
Beach (population 12,533) Organization The City of Cocoa Beach's goal is to be
a stand-alone organization. The city has an Enterprise Fund (it is called
an Enterprise in the annual budget) Staffing accounts for 29.5% of total expenditures:
Staffing
The public has a good
understanding of water quality issues through efforts of SJRWMD SWIM
program and the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. Very
little opposition to improving water quality exists. Adverse effects
on canals and lagoon are evident. Ongoing public outreach efforts
since utility start-up have included: public school involvement in
stormdrain stenciling program, monthly newspaper articles, public
displays (kiosks) at key high-pedestrian traffic areas, public presentations
(library, League of Women Voters, Citizen's Academy), various city
commission and board presentations, volunteer projects (native shoreline
plantings, mangrove restoration), and upcoming stormdrain marker volunteer
kits. Funding Based on Impervious Area = Average Impervious
Area of one Single-Family
Revenues including credits:
$85,074
Single-Family Residential
$91,285 Commercial__________
$78,373 Total
$254,732
7.3.5 City of Tallahassee (population 127,000) Organization When originally implemented in 1986, Tallahassee's stormwater utility was set up purely as a financing mechanism. Approximately one half of the property within the city is government owned and therefore exempt from local property taxes. As a result, the stormwater utility or user fee approach to funding stormwater management provided a more equitable funding mechanism for city residents. Funding for existing Public Works Department drainage functions was switched from general fund revenue to stormwater fee revenue. Billing and administration was done by the city's finance department. No new programs or initiatives were implemented. However, as stormwater issues became more complex, Tallahassee's stormwater program gradually evolved. In 1990, a new division was added to the Growth Management Department to handle all stormwater permitting and regulatory matters. Then in 1991, a new division was added to the Public Works Department to work solely on stormwater management capital projects. Additionally, positions and equipment were added to the Public Works - Streets and Drainage Division to enhance drainage operation and maintenance work. Click here to see City of Tallahassee Stormwater Division Chart Evolution continued and eventually the role of the Stormwater Division in the Public Works Department broadened to include overall stormwater program coordination. A number of functions are now handled in that unit including administration of utility matters. At this time, general program functions are distributed as shown in the City of Tallahassee Stormwater Division Chart. Stormwater Management Division The Stormwater Division is a part of the Public Works Department, but functions fairly autonomously with regard to utility administration and stormwater management. The division has 17 positions assigned as indicated below.
Funding Revenue from stormwater fees can only be used for stormwater management purposes. A special revenue fund provides for accounting isolation of all revenue and expenditures. Services provided by General Fund operations, such as accounting, billing, or data processing, are paid for through annual inter-fund transfers. The charts on the following page show the approximate amount of revenue coming from each customer class as well as the typical allocation of that funding to various uses. Revenue The stormwater fee in Tallahassee generates approximately $1.5 million dollars annually per dollar of rate charged for the base billing unit. The base billing unit is an "equivalent residential unit" or "ERU" which represents a single-family unit having an average of 1,990 square feet of impervious area. All residential customers are charged for one ERU per month. Non-residential customers are charged a proportional monthly fee based upon the ratio of the actual impervious area on their site to the base ERU value of 1,990 square feet. Only developed lots are charged the stormwater fee. Billing The stormwater fee is billed monthly on a consolidated utility bill along with charges for solid waste service and all other applicable city utility services. The city operates electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities. Although each charge is itemized by type, any shortage created by non-payment for one service is proportionately distributed to all the others. Because non-payment of the stormwater fee can lead to interruption of electric or water service, enforcement has not been problematic.
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