- December 3, 2024
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Citizens who live in unincorporated areas of Volusia County may expect to see another stormwater fee increase next year.
For 18 years, residents living in areas such as Ormond-by-the-Sea paid $6 a month for stormwater fees. That changed this year when the County Council voted 5-2 to increase the fees to $8, a change that took effect on Oct. 1 and was due to a March stormwater utility program study that recommended an increase as the county predicted a deficit in capital reserve funding for fiscal year 2025-2026.
And as part of that study, council members were informed that an increase to $12 per month per residence would be needed to improve the level of service to a "B" grade, and a $16 per month increase to reach an "A." The county's current level of service is graded "C."
At the County Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3, county staff was seeking the council's approval to pursue an incremental stormwater fee increase of $1 per month beginning Oct. 1, 2025, until reaching a $12 monthly fee. This will increase the county's annual revenue for stormwater projects from $6.1 million to $9.2 million.
"We're at the maximum rate that can be charged without going to a public meeting," County Public Works Director Ben Bartlett said. "If we were to increase that rate, we would have to send out letters to every property owner in the unincorporated area."
The stormwater fee increase would also aid the county in updating, or creating, a stormwater management master plan for its 16 watersheds. Of the 16, 11 have existing plans, but many date back over 20 years.
Bartlett said these studies will then recommend projects to improve the waterways. These could include stormwater conveyance projects or acquisition opportunities.
"You're looking at projects not just probably in the tens of millions of dollars, but in the hundreds of millions of dollars," Bartlett said.
Because of that, County Councilman David Santiago said he wanted to take a different approach, suggesting the county look into regional and shovel-ready projects and ask for legislative funding, a motion the council unanimously approved.
What projects? Santiago suggested the county hold off on using the Transform 386 dollars approved by the council at its last meeting on Nov. 19 for the two Volusia County projects on the list: $6.8 million for a new EMS Operations Building and just under $3 million for improvements to North Beach Street in Daytona Beach.
The county should reduce the Transform 386 funding slated for those projects, go to the Legislature for matching dollars, and use the Transform 386 savings toward watershed studies.
"I don't want to miss this legislative session," Santiago said. "Let's strike while the iron's hot on that potential."
Bartlett said the county has funding for five watershed studies, and there are some further down the needs list, like the Nova Canal study, that will be funded by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Waiting for the Legislature would result in about a two-month delay, and a possibility of walking away without any funds, but Santiago said he was willing to take that gamble.
"I think the two-and-a-half month wait is not going to be drastic, but we can save the county millions of dollars that we can still use," Santiago said.
And as for increasing the cap of stormwater fees to $12, the County Council voted 6-1 to delay making that decision, for at least the next few months after reviewing what projects will come out of the county's engineering studies.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower voted against, saying that he didn't want to delay upping the cap — which would allow for a stormwater fee increase next year — because he felt a sense of urgency to begin addressing stormwater needs.
"I assume that everybody up here is as well," Brower said. "... Every body of water in Volusia County, almost, is affected by water quality. And then the other problem we have is the flooding issues."
He wishes to pursue an "A" level of service and said he understands funding is the issue of reaching that.
"When we talk about studies, everybody rolls her eyes, but the studies lead to action," Brower said. "The studies will lead to the projects that we need to do to take care of flooding."
The council needs to make this a top priority in the year ahead, Brower said.
Santiago said the delay was only so that the county can continue to get more information on how much money it needs for priority projects.
"We need to come at this tactically, and that includes, 'How do we fund it?'" Santiago said.
County Councilman Troy Kent said he understood where Brower was coming from, but that he also wanted to pursue Santiago's idea of trying to acquire legislative funding before pursuing a fee increase.
"We are the leaders of Volusia County," Kent said. "We set the tone for the cities and our residents are rightfully demanding help, and that's something that we can do and should do, but we cannot do it recklessly."
