It will only take one vote to nearly double — or more than triple — Holmes Beach’s stormwater assessment fees.
And property owners have few opportunities to voice their feedback.
In a June 26 post on her public Facebook account, Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Whitmore called for people to attend the commission’s July 22 meeting, where a resolution to increase stormwater assessment fees will be discussed.
“There is not a lot of time for us to hear from our citizens,” Whitmore wrote. “Myself and the commissioners need to hear from you.”
Stormwater fee revenues fund the maintenance and improvement of the city’s drainage infrastructure that filters, drains and directs stormwater into local waterways.
That infrastructure includes about four miles of vertical infiltration trenches, 10 miles of drainage pipes and more than 25 tide valves.
The city’s current stormwater assessment fee is $2.95 per 100 square feet of property, resulting in a $147.5 annual stormwater fee for a 5,000-square-foot property.
However, city engineer and public works director Sage Kamiya told commissioners during their June 24 work session that the current rate would not support the $21.9 million in stormwater maintenance and improvement projects necessary over the next five years to address flooding concerns.
Those projects include phases D-N of the city’s ongoing stormwater drainage improvements, the installation of numerous tide valves, as well as work on Gulf Drive, Marina Drive, Second Avenue, Sixth Avenue and 27th Street.
To help fund those projects, Kamiya proposed two potential fee increases: from $2.95 to either $4.95 or $9 per 100 square feet of property.
At $4.95 per 100 square feet of property, owners of a 5,000-square-foot property would pay a $247.50 annual stormwater fee — a $100 increase over the current annual fee for the same property.
At $9 per 100 square feet of property, owners of a 5,000-square-foot property would pay a $450 annual stormwater fee — $302.50 more on a yearly basis than they pay now.
Kamiya said property owners could ask public works executive assistant Grace Goggin to calculate how the stormwater assessment fee increase would impact the annual fee on their property by calling her at 941-708-5800, ext. 244, or emailing ggoggin@holmesbeachfl.org.
While the current rate would generate the city $850,000 in stormwater assessment revenues in fiscal 2025-26, which begins Oct. 1, the $4.95 rate would generate $1.4 million and the $9 rate would generate $2.59 million, according to Kamiya.
He said without an increase, certain stormwater projects would be scrapped or delayed.
If the city implements the $9 rate, its list of stormwater projects could be completed over the next five years, even if it would require the city to dip a couple million dollars “into the red” to make it happen.
Kamiya said the city needed to decide on the proposed increase soon so it could be factored into the budget for fiscal 2025-26.
The city has until the first week of August to notify the Manatee County Property Appraiser of a stormwater assessment fee increase.
Since the matter was presented as a work session discussion item, no action was taken June 24.
However, city officials voiced support for increasing the fees.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said stormwater maintenance and improvement projects, such as the $21.9 million worth of plans for the next five years, help preserve property values.
“I think it’s really important to the citizens that we do more for stormwater,” she said.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said he would support increasing the rate to $9 per 100 square feet of property.
“Obviously, no one wants to go and tax more than necessary, but from a realistic standpoint … the more we have in our own stormwater assessment, the greater leverage we have with regard to grant requests,” Schaefer said. “I can’t think of a better time in the 20 years that we’ve been here to present to our constituents the need to do this.”
Whitmore supported an increase during the meeting but called for a “major public campaign” to notify the community.
“I think they all understand the reason why we need to do this,” she said. “It’s for the better good for everybody. … But I really want to make sure the public knows.”
Whitmore encouraged property owners to contact Goggin to learn about how the proposed increases would impact them.
Titsworth said the city would post to social media to inform people about the proposed increase.
The resolution to increase stormwater assessment fees will be discussed at the commission’s next regular meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
While ordinances require two public readings and votes to adopt, resolutions need one vote. So the July 22 meeting may be the last chance for public feedback.
Wow, back in the old days the concern was to improve the removal of storm water from the streets and roadways of the island to save the infrastructure of roadway and property for the residents and visitors alike. Then a grant became available, take our money and save the fishes and the bay from runoff, it will necessarily flood your streets and neighborhoods but the bay will love the filtration, so the street start sinking and the property is flooded, think of the little fishes.
Shame we don’t have the little fishes paying the bills isn’t! And people wonder why the drainage is so much worse, can’t blame Kaleta for this one, blame the fishes because the government is about to up your rates.