Committee flags stormwater fee debate and funding gap for aging infrastructure

Patty Hilt Meliusz, the city’s environmental manager, briefed the Sustainable VC Committee that state lawmakers had recently debated a bill to allow municipalities to charge a stormwater fee rather than rely on general funds. "It was being argued that it's a tax, not a fee," she said, noting disagreement about how the measure should be characterized.

Patty told members she had not received an official result but that "word is that it didn't pass again," leaving stormwater funding unresolved. She emphasized the practical consequence: stormwater infrastructure ages, but there is no designated revenue stream to support repairs and asset management.

Committee members discussed the need to pursue an asset management plan for stormwater and to monitor state action. No formal directives or votes were recorded; Patty said the committee will track the issue and update the group as more authoritative information becomes available.

The briefing highlighted a tension policymakers face when designing dedicated utility fees and underlined the committee’s limited local authority to create revenue without state enabling legislation or local policy action brought to the city commission.