Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home City Council is expected, at its next meeting on Oct. 23, to make its first decision establishing a storm water drainage utility that will cost Sweet Home residents $4 per month.
The utility would fund two new city employee positions that would be focused on keeping storm drains and ditches cleaned out, which is expected to help avoid drainage problems during storms.
City staff will present a draft of the “enabling ordinance” for the utility, City Manager Craig Martin said. “I think we’ll have a draft resolution” establishing the rate at the same meeting.
The council will hold the first reading of the proposed ordinance during the meeting, and then the councilors may discuss the proposal and possibly receive input from the public.
Proposed ordinances go through three total readings before the council is permitted to enact the ordinance. Sometimes the council may hold the second reading, by title only, on the same night as the first reading.
Martin does not expect the council to hold a double reading the first night, and he doesn’t believe the ordinance will include an expediency clause, which allows the ordinance to take effect as soon as the mayor signs it.
Without an expediency clause, ordinances take effect 30 days after the council reaches a decision and the mayor signs them.
The council will most likely hold its second reading at its regular meeting on Nov. 13. It will likely make a final decision after the third reading at the council’s regular meeting on Nov. 27.
The ordinance would then take effect on Dec. 27.
“That would basically say the utility is there; it’s a viable utility,” Martin said. It doesn’t mean that the utility would start charging residents immediately.
At some point after the ordinance is approved, on the same night or later, the council will have to pass a resolution to establish rates.
The city could implement the utility at any time after passage of the ordinance and resolution, Martin said, but it will likely pick a “time certain” to begin billing.
Martin thinks that will start sometime around or after the first of the year, he said.
The proposed rate, $4 for residences for the utility is the same as recommended on a consultant’s report, Martin said. “That’s what staff’s recommending. That’s what, during their work session, the council seemed to think was reasonable.”
Businesses will pay a larger fee based on size in terms of “equivalent dwelling units,” Martin said. There are no exemptions identified in the ordinance, but some industrial properties operate under a permit that allows them to put their drainage into the city’s sewer treatment system. They already pay for the service through that route and will not be charged under the new ordinance.
The new revenue won’t give the city enough money to go out and replace ditches with drainage pipes, Martin said, but it will allow the city to proactively keep ditch lines cleaned out rather than reacting to specific blockages during rain storms.
Employees from the city’s roads, sewer and water divisions have normally responded to drainage problems, Martin said, but the cost to those funds respectively has not been significant over time.
The new rate will cover the cost of two new employees, Martin said. They will map, maintain and repair the existing drainage system as funds allow.