The Richardson City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance amending the city's master fee schedule to increase the drainage utility fee, officials said.

City staff and council said the change will raise the residential fee from $5.25 to $6.25 per month and increase the commercial rate from 14.7 cents to 17.5 cents per 100 square feet of impervious area. Charles Goff, a city staff presenter, said the change "adds about $750,000 to the fund annually." The council voted to adopt the ordinance unanimously; the fee will take effect with the first billing in November.

The increase is part of the FY 2026 budget development and is intended to fund three parts of the drainage program: contract services (day-to-day maintenance and assessments), city operations and capital improvement projects that address flood prevention and erosion protection. In a slide presentation, staff said contract services and related pressures ' including aging infrastructure, inflation and increased regulatory requirements ' have squeezed the fund and reduced available project dollars without a rate adjustment.

Goff told the council that without an increase contract services costs would push the projects line lower; the proposed rate increase was intended to maintain roughly last year's project level and allow funding for two or three smaller projects or to save for larger projects pending assessments. He told the council staff would finalize which projects to pursue as current assessments conclude.

During the statutorily required public hearing on the fee increase, staff reported there were no advance comment cards by the 5 p.m. deadline but one person in the audience spoke. James Ambergi, a Richardson resident, asked whether a separate, previously planned capital project (the Duck Creek renovation near Huffines Park) was part of the proposed change; staff replied it was not (that project was from the 2021 bond program) and explained the difference between operational contract services and capital projects.

Council members asked no further substantive changes; Mayor Pro Tem Hutchinrider moved to close the public hearing and later moved adoption of the ordinance, which passed unanimously after a second. City staff said the increased revenue will appear on November billings and be applied to the drainage utility fund to support maintenance, studies and capital improvements.

The ordinance amends Appendix B (Master Fee Schedule) to the Richardson Code of Ordinances, specifically the Drainage Utility System Schedule of Charges. The council did not identify individual project selections at the meeting; staff said projects will be determined after ongoing assessments are complete.

The ordinance and presentation materials are part of the council packet. The city staff contact listed during the presentation was Charles Goff; Don Magner handled meeting logistics for the council during the item.