- November 21, 2024
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Stormwater utility fees are going up again this year for residents of Ormond-by-the-Sea and other unincorporated areas.
In 2005, a rate study recommended Volusia County increase its monthly stormwater fees from $2.50 to $8 by 2009. The County Council at the time set the fee at $6, and it remained the same until 2023 when the council increased it by 50 cents.
On Tuesday, April 2, the County Council voted 5-2 to increase the fees to $8 — the highest it could set it without a noticed public hearing. A stormwater utility program study completed in March recommended an $8.25 increase to maintain the current level of service for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. But, the increase would not sustain the program due to forecasted increases of operating expenditures starting next fiscal year.
"We're looking at fiscal year [2026-2027] where we're basically running a deficit in the stormwater utility plan," County Public Works Director Ben Bartlett said at the recent council meeting.
The expenditures were forecasted to be 114% over the program's operating revenue in fiscal year 2026-2027. Bartlett attributed that to rising personnel costs — salaries and insurance benefits – as well as increased construction and maintenance costs.
Councilman Jake Johansson said the most common complaint he hears from residents, other than taxes, is flooding. He was supportive of a "stair step approach" to increase the program's level of service.
"I think people will give up a six-pack or three of beer a month to help put a dent in the flooding issues that we're seeing, regardless of the reason — sea level rise, climate change, development," Johansson said. "It's all probably coming anyhow, right? We have a flood of water. We have a flood of sea level rise and we have a flood of people coming. We have to balance all those."
Fee increases tend to hurt the most needy, said County Councilman Troy Kent, who voted against the increase.
"That doesn't escape me when we're making heavy decisions like this," Kent said. "But it also doesn't escape me that prior elected bodies will sometimes go years or decades without making small incremental increases, and then you're hit with, 'Hey we're in a crisis situation and we're going to increase everybody's rate to an astronomical number.' That doesn't feel good."
While also supportive of small incremental fee increases, Kent felt the $1.50 increase to $8 was too high. He made a motion to increase the stormwater fee to $7.50 a month, but it failed 5-2, with only Councilman Don Dempsey voting in favor of it with Kent.
Council Chair Jeff Brower said he would support an increase only if county staff used the funds to complete two watershed analysis studies a year to either update or create existing water quality basin management action plans. Volusia has 16 watersheds; 11 have had a study performed since 1994. The Halifax River watershed plan was last updated in 2015.
The only reason, County Manager George Recktenwald said, that the county hasn't been facing a forecasted deficit in the stormwater utility fund in recent years is because of the federal coronavirus relief dollars.
"What you're looking at and what [Bartlett] is trying to say is you need some extra money — because you can't afford to do the studies because we're using up all the money now on the operation and maintenance just to keep our heads above water," Recktenwald said.
The county could continue to search for other resources, but it would be kicking the can down the road, Councilman Matt Reinhart said.
"We want to be able to control the flooding issue now," he said. "We've got to start somewhere."
Councilman David Santiago, who voted against an increase to $7.50, thought $8 was too small of an increase to address issues, but that it was a start.
"Let's tell Volusia that we're serious about flooding and it costs money to do the projects," Santiago said.
Councilman Danny Robins brought up a sales tax as another funding mechanism. Santiago asked if he was suggested exploring a referendum for an stormwater sales tax.
"Is it better for our visitors to pay for a portion of it to alleviate this, instead of putting 100% of the burden on our residents?" Robin said.
Santiago said he was open to the conversation.
"If we go there, it has to be very narrowly defined because of the failures in the past to do things like that," Santiago said.
In 2019, Volusia County held a special election for a half-cent sales tax referendum to fund infrastructure projects; it failed by 55% of the vote.
Before the council vies for a sales tax, Brower said, the body should concentrate on what can be done now.
Kent said he hadn't expected to get into a sales tax discussion.
"This conversation about sales tax where our visitors are going to pay for it — but guess who else pays for it?" Kent said. "You do, all day long with everything you buy. We're already taxed enough."
