Lewiston City Councilors pass stormwater fees
Aug. 15—Lewiston residents will begin paying stormwater fees this January after the municipality's elected officials approved the new source of revenue at a Monday meeting.
The money will cover deferred maintenance in the city's 100-plus-year-old system of pipes, ditches, culverts, curbs gutters and ditches that carry rainwater into green spaces and waterways.
How much homeowners and businesses will pay depends on where their properties are and the volume of impervious surfaces such as roofs, patios, roads, driveways and parking areas on their lots.
The fee will be $7.40 per month for every 4,500 square feet of impervious surface area in the part of the city described as service area one.
It includes neighborhoods such as Normal Hill and the Elks Addition that drain into the Snake and Clearwater rivers. Those on the utility assistance program will pay a discounted rate of $5.54 per month in that part of the city.
It will be $5.70 per month for every 4,500 square feet of impervious surface area in service area two that encompasses neighborhoods in the Orchards that drain into Lindsay and Tammany creeks. The utility assistance program rate is $4.05 per month in that area.
The decision came in a tie vote broken by Mayor Dan Johnson that backed Councilor Rick Tousley's proposal to reduce the fees in the resolution in the council packet.
The fees in the packet were $10.60 per month for every 4,500 square feet of impervious surface area in service area one with a utility assistance rate of $7.94 and $7.74 in service area two with a utility assistance program rate of $5.80.
Tousley was joined by Council President Hannah Liedkie and Councilor Kassee Forsmann. Councilors Jim Kleeburg, Kathy Schroeder and John Spickelmire voted against it.
The decision was part of a lengthy meeting in which councilors approved the first of three readings of the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget that starts Oct. 1. The budget will go through two more votes at city council meetings in upcoming weeks before it's final.
Much of the discussion centered on how to address the city's aging infrastructure without imposing unnecessary financial burdens on taxpayers, especially senior citizens with fixed incomes.
The $107 million budget contains no increase in property taxes and doesn't add any staff positions, said Finance Director and City Treasurer Aimee Gordon in a presentation to city council.
The council amended the budget moving $1.65 million from a building reserve fund to a capital projects fund. Liedkie proposed the change to increase money available for street projects. Forsmann backed a change to the budget that would have cut property tax revenue of $23.5 million for the year by $708,000, but it didn't receive a majority of council votes.
The $708,000 would have come from the money earmarked for the capital projects fund, giving taxpayers a little bit of a break while still leaving plenty of revenue to address infrastructure needs, Forsmann said.
Tousley noted one of the most common concerns he hears is about the condition of the city's roads.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
