The McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted down an ordinance to create a stormwater utility and fee structure following significant opposition Tuesday night.
The proposal aimed to charge fees based on impervious surface area to fund drainage projects and compliance with federal regulations. Resident Raven Young told the board she calculated the potential costs for government-owned properties and questioned how those fees would be funded.
“If we can afford $33,000 a year to go into this, to go into storm water management, why do we even have to have this fee added to constituents as well?” Young said, “I also looked at the county office; was around $3,000 a year just for their office on Locust Street.”
Board members debated whether the city could manage drainage issues through the existing general fund or if a dedicated revenue stream was required. Supporters of the ordinance argued that a utility structure would ensure costs were tied to the specific impact of impervious surfaces.
“Addressing storm water through the general fund is neither sustainable nor equitable,” Carrie Youngblood said. “A utility structure ensures that the cost of managing runoff is tied to impact, particularly impervious surface area, rather than shifting the burden broadly onto property taxpayers regardless of their contribution.”
Casey Hartwood presented data suggesting residential units would generate just under $10,000 a month in revenue. He estimated that the top 30 largest commercial and industrial properties would face significantly higher costs totaling roughly $20,000 a month.
“And then you add another roughly 5 million square feet to cover the rest, and that’s $27,000 a month just in commercial industrial type properties,” Hartwood said. “Total with residential: 36, 37,000 a month, $440,000 a year for the storm water fee.”
The motion ultimately failed with Mayor Ryle Chastain joining board members Rachel Kirby, Carrie Morton, and Deidra Dunlap in voting against the measure. Officials noted during the discussion that the city must still comply with federal regulations regarding stormwater discharge despite the rejection of the fee.
“I have not received input from a single person in the city that is in favor of this,” Rachel Kirby said. “So as such, I can’t support and won’t support starting this utility.”