HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 27267-10-2024t
ORDINANCE NO.27267-10-2024
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 12.5-340 "CATEGORIES
OF DRAINAGE UTILITY RATES" TO ESTABLISH A NEW
SCHEDULE OF CHARGES FOR EACH RESPECTIVE BILLING
TIER; PROVIDING THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE
CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2006 the City Council of the City of Fort Worth
adopted Ordinance No. 16781-01-2006 to establish a municipal Drainage Utility System
(M&C G-15066); and
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2006 the City Council of the City of Fort Worth also
adopted Ordinance No. 16782-01-2006 to amend the City Code by adding Division IV,
Section 12.5-336 through 12.5-347, entitled "Municipal Drainage Utility System" to
Article III of Chapter 12.5, by which the rules and regulations of the Drainage Utility
System would be governed (M&C G-15067); and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Drainage Utility Systems Act (the "Act"), Texas
Local Government Code §§ 552.042 et seq., as amended, authorizes the City to prescribe
a basis upon which to fund the municipal Drainage Utility System and to assess the fees
and charges to support the municipal Drainage Utility System; and
WHEREAS, Section 552.045 of the Act authorizes the City to establish a
schedule of drainage charges and to revise those drainage charges after three published
notices and a public hearing; and
WHEREAS, on March 7, 2006, the City Council revised the rates and charges for
the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 16843-03-2006; M&C G-15107); and
WHEREAS, on September 4, 2007, the City Council revised the rates and
charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 17742-09-2007; M&C G-
15858); and
WHEREAS, on December 2, 2008, the City Council further revised the rates and
charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 18381-12-2008; M&C G-
16374); and
WHEREAS, on September 15, 2009 the City Council further revised the rates
and charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 18819-09-2009; M&C
G-16701); and
WHEREAS, on September 20, 2011 the City Council further revised the rates
and charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 19908-09-2011; M&C
G-173 84); and
WHEREAS, on October 15, 2019 the City Council further revised the rates and
charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 23884-10-2019: M&C 19-
1' 0242); and
WHEREAS, on June 13, 2023 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 26205-
06-2023 (M&C No. 23-0474) to amend the City Code to replace outdated definitions for
different categories of properties to ensure correct stormwater utility rates are charged to
each respective property within the Municipal Drainage Utility System; and
WHEREAS, on October 31, 2023 the City Council further revised the rates and
charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System (Ordinance 26561-10-2023; M&C 23-
0940)
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that an increase in the rates is now warranted
to continue to provide funds for necessary stormwater infrastructure improvements; and
WHEREAS, the first public notice of a public hearing for this ordinance to
establish a new Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) charge and schedule of residential
drainage charges was published on September 23, 2024 in the Fort Worth Star -Telegram
in accordance with the requirements of the Act on or before the 30t' day before the date
of the hearing; and
WHEREAS, in setting the schedule of charges for drainage utility service, the
calculations are based on an inventory of the parcels within the Municipal Drainage
Utility System and the actual or estimated impervious area on the benefitted properties;
and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City to fund the Municipal Drainage Utility
System to fairly and equitably allocate the cost of storm water control to properties in
proportion to storm water runoff potential for each type of property.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That Section 12.5-340 "Categories of Drainage Utility Rates" of the City Code of the
City of Fort Worth (2015), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
SECTION 12.5-340 CATEGORIES OF DRAINAGE UTILITY RATES.
(a) The city council finds that impervious cover increases runoff and
associated pollutants. For the purposes of calculating the drainage
utility fee, an ERU shall be the established standard billing unit.
One ERU shall be billed at $6.94 per month. Each benefitted
property shall be categorized as one of the following:
(1) Low occupancy residential property. A low
occupancy residential property shall be placed in one of
four billing tiers based on residential square footage,
identified below, with building permits or the most recent
appraisal district data used as a means of estimating the
total amount of impervious area on the property. The
median single-family residential parcel in Fort Worth has
been determined to have approximately 2,600 square feet
of impervious area or surface or one ERU.
(2) High occupancy residential/non-residential property.
Fees for high occupancy residential/non-residential
properties shall be based on the total estimated impervious
area on each parcel, with building permit information,
aerial photography, or actual measurement used as a means
of estimating the total amount of impervious area on the
property, divided by 2,600 square feet to determine the
number of ERUs or billing units.
(b) The city council finds that it is equitable to assess the drainage
utility fee to each Iow occupancy residential user on the basis of
four low occupancy residential billing tiers and such rates are
hereby established.
Low
Billing Unit
Billing
Monthly
Occupancy
—
Basis
Rate,
Billing Tier
Equivalent
Effective
Residential
January 1,
Units ER
2025
Tier 1
0.5 ERU
Up to
$3.47
1,300
square
feet
Tier 2
1.0 ERU
1,300 to
$6.94
2,475
square
feet
Tier 3
1.5 ERU
2,476 to
$10.41
3,394
square
feet
Tier 4
2.0 ERU
3,394+
$13.88
square
feet
(c) The city council finds that it is equitable to assess the drainage utility fee to each
high occupancy residential/non-residential property on the basis of the number of
ERU's in a parcel, which shall be obtained by dividing the estimated impervious
area or surface by 2,600 square feet. The calculated number of ERU's will be
rounded to the nearest whole integer other than zero, to determine the monthly
fee.
(d) The city council finds it equitable to provide for funding of future construction of
the drainage utility system through a contribution from the drainage utility fee.
(e) The city council may review the schedule of rates at any time and may, by
ordinance, increase or decrease said rates within the schedule, upon a reasonable
determination that said increase or decrease is warranted.
SECTION 2.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the
Code of the City of Port Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, except where the provisions
of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such
Code, in which event conflicting provisions of such ordinances and such Code are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 3.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and, if any
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared
unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences,
paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the
City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
SECTION 4.
This ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
Matthew A. Murray
Sr. Assistant City Attorney
ADOPTED: October 29, 2024
CITY SECRETARY
Jannette S. Goodall
City Secretary
(City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 10/29/24 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 24-0948
LOG NAME: 20SWM INCREASE FY25
SUBJECT
(ALL) Conduct a Public Hearing and Adopt an Ordinance Amending Section 12.5-340 "Categories of Drainage Utility Rates" of Chapter 12.5
"Environmental Protection and Compliance" of the City Code, Revising Monthly Fees Assessed for the Municipal Drainage Utility System to be
Effective January 1, 2025
(PUBLIC HEARING - a. Report of City Staff: Jennifer Dyke; b. Citizen Presentations; c. Council Action: Close Public Hearing and Approve the
M&C)
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council conduct a public hearing and adopt the attached ordinance amending Section 12.5-340 "Categories of
Drainage Utility Rates" of Chapter 12.5 "Environmental Protection and Compliance" of the City Code, revising monthly fees assessed for the
Municipal Drainage Utility System to be Effective January 1, 2025.
D SC ION:
Due to the need for critical storm drainage pipe rehabilitation, the Transportation and Public Works Department Stormwater Management Division
is recommending an increase to the monthly stormwater utility rate of $0.33 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) as a part of the Fiscal Year (FY)
2025 Budget request. An ERU equals 2,600 square feet of impervious surface. This 5% fee increase will support capital delivery for City-wide
drainage pipe rehabilitation projects prioritized based on risk.
In February and June 2024, Stormwater Management Division staff met with the Stormwater Management Program Stakeholder Group to update
stakeholders on the stormwater program, to discuss a potential fee increase and the proposed FY25 work efforts, and to obtain feedback. The
Stormwater Management Program Stakeholder Group is comprised of community members representing residential homeowners, civic groups,
developers, and large rate payers.
The following table presents the proposed fees for the four tiers of low occupancy residential property, as well as the fees for high occupancy
residential/non-residential property, which includes properties such as apartments and those with commercial, industrial, and institutional land
uses. For low occupancy residential property, the total amount of impervious area on the property and corresponding billing tier is estimated based
on building permits or the most recent appraisal district data. For high occupancy reside ntiallnon-residential property, the fees are calculated
based on an actual measurement or an estimate of the impervious area on each property using resources such as building permits and aerial
photography.
Low Occupancy Residential
Property
(such as single family)
Billing Unit
Current Proposed
Billing Tier
Equivalent Residential Units
Billing Basis Monthly Monthly Rate,
(ERU)
Rate Effective
January1, 2025
Tier 1
0.5 ERU
Up to 1,300 square feet $3.31 $3.47
T[er2
1.0 ERU
1,300 to 2,475 square feet $6.61 $6.94
Tier 3
1.5 ERU
2,476 to 3,394 square feet $9.92 $10.41
Tier
2.0 ERU
3,394+ square feet $13.23 $13.88
High Occupancy ResidentiallNon-Residential,Property
5
(such as apartments, commercial, industrial, and institutional)
High Occupancy Residentlal/Non-
Per ERU (2,600 square feet of
Estimated or measured
$6.611
$6.94 / ERU
Residential Property
impervious surface)
impervious surface
ERU
The fee increase will result in approximately $60,111.00 per year in additional revenue for City property and will bring in an estimated $2.14 million
of total additional drainage utility revenue in FY25 (based on nine months of collection) and $2.9 million of total additional drainage utility revenue in
FY26.
Section 552.045 of the Local Government Code requires the City to hold a public hearing before revising and levying the drainage utility rates.
Notice of the hearing, including the full text of the proposed ordinance, was published in the Fort Worth Star -Telegram on September 23, 2024,
September 30, 2024, and October 7, 2024.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION t CERTIFICATION:
The Director of Finance certifies that upon approval of the above recommendation and adoption of the attached ordinance, funds will be deposited
into the Stormwater Utility Fund. The Transportation & Public Works Department (and Financial Management Services) is responsible for the
collection and deposit of funds due to the City.
Submitted for Cily Manager's Office by: Jesica McEachern 5804
Originating Business Unit Head: Lauren Prieur 6035
Additional Information Contact: Monty Hall 8662