HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 28003-09-2025ORDINANCE NO.28003-09-2025
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12.5 "ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE," ARTICLE III "STORMWATER
PROTECTION." DIVISION 4 "MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE UTILITY
SYSTEM," SECTION 12.5-340 "CATEGORIES OF DRAINAGE
UTILITY RATES" OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH,
TEXAS (2015), AS AMENDED, TO REVISE THE MONTHLY RATES
AND BILLING BASIS FOR THE DRAINAGE UTILITY FEE;
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,
Sections 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, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2023, and 2024, the City Council
revised the rates and charges for the Municipal Drainage Utility System; 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2023 (M&C No. 23-0474) to amend the City Code to replace outdated definitions for different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, the City Council finds that an increase in the rates is now warranted to
continue to provide funds for necessary stormwater infrastructure maintenance and capital
improvements; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to clarify the billing basis for Low Occupancy
Residential Property billing tiers to ensure that the billing tiers do not overlap; and
WHEREAS, notice of the public hearing on this ordinance was published in the Fort
Worth Star -Telegram three times before the date of the public hearing, with the first publication
Ordinance No. 28003-09-2025
occurring on August 13, 2025, said date being on or before the 301h day before the date of the
hearing, in accordance with the requirements of the Act; 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.
Chapter 12.5, Article III, Division 4, Section 12.5-340 "Categories of Drainage Utility
Rates" of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (2015), as amended, is hereby amended
to amend subsections (a) and (b) in their entirety to be and 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 $7.29 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 low
occupancy residential user on the basis of four low occupancy residential billing tiers and
such rates are hereby established.
Low Billing Unit Equivalent Billing Basis Monthly Rate, Effective
Occupancy Residential Units (ERU) January 1, 2026
Billing Tier
Tier 1 0.5 ERU Up to 1,300 $3.65
square feet
Ordinance No. 28003-09-2025
Tier 2 1.0 ERU 1,301 to 2,475 $7.29
square feet
Tier 3 1.5 ERU 2,476 to $10.94
3,394
square feet
Tier 4 2.0 ERU 3,395 square $14.58
feet and above
SECTION 2.
This ordinance shall be cumulative of all provisions of ordinances and of the Code of
the City of Fort 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, 2026.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
Kevin Anders
Assistant City Attorney
ADOPTED: September 16, 2025
Jannette S. Goodall
City Secretary
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Ordinance No.28003-09-2025
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 09/16/25 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 25-0864
LOG NAME: 20SWM INCREASE FY26
SUBJECT
(ALL) Conduct a Public Hearing and Adopt an Ordinance Amending Chapter 12.5 "Environmental Protection and Compliance," Article III
"Stormwater Protection," Division 4 "Municipal Drainage Utility System," Section 12.5-340 "Categories of Drainage Utility Rates" of the City Code,
to Revise the Monthly Rates and Clarify the Low Occupancy Residential Property Billing Basis Tiers for the Municipal Drainage Utility System
(PUBLIC HEARING - a. Staff Available for Questions: Jennifer Dyke; b.Public Comment; c. Council Action: Close Public Hearing and Act on
M&C)
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Conduct a public hearing; and
2. Adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 12.5 "Environmental Protection and Compliance," Article III "Stormwater Protection," Division
4 "Municipal Drainage Utility System," Section 12.5-340 "Categories of Drainage Utility Rates" of the Code of the City of Fort Worth (2015), as
amended, to revise monthly rates and clarify the low occupancy residential property billing basis tiers for the Municipal Drainage Utility System.
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Due to the backlog of engineered channel restoration work and the need for reliable citywide maintenance performance, the Transportation and
Public Works Department Stormwater Management Division is recommending a $0.35 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) monthly rate
increase for the stormwater utility as a part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget request. One ERU equals approximately 2,600 square feet of
impervious surface. This 5% rate increase will support the delivery of channel restoration projects benefitting adjacent properties and infrastructure
along drainage channels the City is responsible for maintaining. Projects will be prioritized based on risk. Additionally, this rate increase will
enhance the stormwater utility's ability to replace its maintenance equipment and vehicles. Newer equipment will increase the utility's ability to
efficiently perform channel restoration and maintenance, as well as other citywide drainage maintenance. Equipment improvements will provide
additional benefits such as maintaining critical life safety emergency response and increasing employee safety to reduce risk of incidents.
In February 2025, Stormwater Management Division staff met with the Stormwater Management Program Stakeholder Group to update
stakeholders on the stormwater program and to discuss and obtain feedback on a potential fee increase including the proposed purpose,
benefits, and impacts of the potential increase on rate payers. 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 residential/non-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.
The tiers for the Low Occupancy Residential Property billing basis currently overlap. Tier 1 currently ends at 1,300 square feet. Tier 2 currently
begins at 1,300 square feet. Tier 3 currently ends at 3,394 square feet. Tier 4 currently begins at 3,394 square feet. Clarifying the billing basis tiers
as described in the table below will eliminate this overlap.
This provides a clearer distinction between the billing tiers and will not change the current billing tiers for any existing accounts.
Low Occupancy Residential Property
(such as single family and duplex)
Billing Billing Unit Billing Current ProposedMonthly Rate,
Equivalent Residential Units Monthly Effective
Tier (ERU) Basis Rate
January 1, 2026
Tier 1
0.5 ERU
Up to 1,300 square feet
$3.47
$3.65
Tier 2
1.0 ERU
1,301 to 2,475 square feet
$6.94
$7.29
Tier 3
1.5 ERU ��2,476
to 3,394 square feet
$10.41
$10.94
Tier 4
k.0 ERU
k,395 square feet and above
$13.88
$14.58
High Occupancy Residential/Non-Residential Property
(such as apartments, commercial, industrial, and institutional)
High Occupancy Residential/Non- Per ERU (2,600 square feet of Estimated or measured $6.94 / $7 29 / ERU
Residential Property impervious surface) impervious surface ERU
The rate increase will result in approximately $62,367.00 per year in additional revenue generated from City -owned property. The additional
anticipated revenues for FY26 and FY27 are as follows:
• FY26 (collected over 9 months): $2.4 million
• FY27: $3.4 million
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 August 13, 2025, August
20, 2025, and August 27, 2025. This ordinance will become effective on January 1, 2026.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION / 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 Citv Manaaer's Office bv: Jesica McEachern 5804
Oriainatina Business Unit Head: Lauren Prieur 6035
Additional Information Contact: Jennifer Dyke 2714