The St. Cloud City Council at its meeting Thursday agreed to nearly double its stormwater utility fee, which pays for stormwater system improvements, from $6.35 to $12.35 per month, effective Oct. 1. It’s the first increase in that fee since 2007.
The fee funds improvements to the stormwater system, to minimize flooding and stay compliant with national pollution discharge guidelines.
Council Member Ken Gilbert pulled the item off the meeting’s consent agenda, and despite concerns made the motion to approve the hike.
“This was a tough read, I know it’s six bucks, but that’s a lot of money to some people on fixed incomes,” said. “But in reading what’s involved, I see we are getting rid of the $3 per month EMS charge, and we heard from OUC that they are lowering their rates (keep reading, folks). That helps take away some of that punch. I took a good look at this, but I had some 25 calls about this. This increase is still going to just put us in the middle (of other Florida municipalities) for this fee. I do believe this cost is okay, when you look at it deeper it makes sense.”
The vote was 4-1. Council Member Linette Matheny, who also wanted to pull the item from consent and cast the sole vote against the increase. She said she felt more comfortable with raising it to $9.10, the same rate the city of Kissimmee.
Mayor Nathan Blackwell said he’s frustrated the City waited 16 years to adjust the fee.
“We have struggled significantly with stormwater and maintaining all the drainage,” he said. “We’re just trying to break even, not make money.”
“I don’t take this decision lightly,” Council Member Kolby Urban, asking staff if the fee can be studied every few years to make any future increases smaller and incremental.
On the flip side, Orlando Utilities Commission representative Terry Torrens gave the good news that OUC’s board approved a rate reduction as of June 1, an average of $17 per residential unit.
“As soon as we were sure we’d seen savings on our fuel overhead, the average cost of a 1,200-kilowatt home, the average-sized home here in St. Cloud, the rate has gone down,” Torrens said. “We anticipate another fuel reduction before the end of the fiscal year, so we hope to have more good news later.”
“I want to thank you for doing that, which is above board,” Council Member Gilbert said.
“It’s refreshing to have a true partner in OUC,” Council Member Urban said.
And, in other good news, in a report to the Council, St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce CEO Dirk Webb notes that the Chamber has celebrated 25 business ribbon cuttings thus far this year in the city – there were 18 of them in all of 2022.
