WESTFIELD – The City Council voted Thursday to send a proposed stormwater ordinance amendment, which would entirely revamp the fee structure, to the Board of Public Works for its review and recommendation.
Ward 1 Councillor Christopher Keefe, chairman of the Legislative & Ordinance Committee, presented the proposed amendment to the City Council Thursday nigh stating that the amendment is revenue neutral and that it would create a uniform rate for all properties in the city. The amendment would eliminate the current fee structure and establish a new fee structure of three quarters of a cent (.0075) per square foot.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell commended Keefe for assembling motions from five councilors relating to the stormwater program into one comprehensive ordinance amendment. O’Connell said that she “doesn’t necessarily” support the proposed flat rate fee structure, but that she will wait for the response form the Public Works board and department before commenting on the council floor.
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty said that he also supports the concept of amending the stormwater ordinance, but also anticipates the floor debate on the proposed changes.
Keefe said that the current fee generates about $600,000 and that the flat fee proposed in the ordinance amendment will generate $660,000 a year.
The residential rate is a flat $20 per year under the current ordinance, while the nonresidential rate is based upon the area of impervious surface, structures and paved lost, at a rate of 4 1/2 cents per square foot, with a nonresidential minimum annual rate of $100 and a maximum annual rate of $640. The present stormwater budget accounts for $585,000 of that $600,000 fee revenue, with about $250,000 dedicated to the salaries and benefits of the five employees in that division of the Department of Public Works. The budget also includes $95,000 in the construction account, $80,0000 for street sweeping with a private contractor, and lease payments of $60,000 a year for a catch-basin cleaning truck that was purchased on a lease-to-own contract for $300,000.
Keefe said the revised ordinance will also provide relief for subdivision residents and businesses which were required to install stormwater managements systems as part of permits issued by the Planning Board. Properties equipped with those systems can qualify for an abatement up to 50 percent of their assessed stormwater fee.
There is also an appeal process to the Board of Public Works if the DPW denies an abatement application, requiring the board to conduct a hearing within 90 days of the appeal submission , in writing, and to render a written decision within 10 days of the hearing.
Public Works Superintendent Jim Mulvenna reported at the Feb. 7, 2013 meeting of the Legislative & Ordinance Committee that the city has 37 million square feet of impervious surfaces and that the current residential rate is assessed to 11,303 property owners, while 886 are assessed the fee at the nonresidential rate, with 413 businesses assessed the maximum fee of $640 a year.
