Portland residents will have a first chance Thursday to comment on a city proposal to charge nearly all property owners a new stormwater fee beginning next year.

Thursday’s meeting by the City Council’s Finance Committee – set for 6 p.m. in Room 250 of Casco Bay High School – is the first in a round of public review sessions on the proposal.

Many Portland homeowners would likely see their utility bills increase by several dollars per month – or not increase at all – under the proposed fees. More than 160 businesses with large buildings or parking lots are expected to see their annual utility bills increase by at least $5,000, however.

Currently, the money to pay for an estimated $170 million in sewer and stormwater projects comes from the city’s sewer ratepayers. But city officials contend that system is inequitable because it does not take into account how much stormwater runoff from parking lots, roads and rooftops – the cause of sewage overflows into local waterways – can be attributed to individual properties.

“We feel it is not an equitable way of assessing a stormwater charge by including it in the sewer rates,” said Michael Bobinsky, director of the Portland Department of Public Services. “It has nothing to do with the impact you may have on our system. As we have to increase the maintenance of our stormwater system … we feel this is a more equitable way of doing that.”

Under the proposed system, the city will charge a sewer fee based solely on water usage plus an additional stormwater fee based on the amount of impervious surface on each property. Homeowners and businesses will be charged a $6 stormwater fee per month for every 1,200 feet of impervious surface area – such as rooftops, paved driveways and parking lots – on their properties. Properties with less than 400 square feet of impervious surface area would be exempt.

The proposal is currently being reviewed by the council’s Finance Committee. The new fee structure could take effect in January 2016 if approved by the full council late this year or early next year.

The change would be accompanied by a reduction in the city’s sewer rate, although the net effect for the average home would be $4.50 in additional costs each month. Property owners could reduce their stormwater fee by installing rain gardens, rain collection barrels or taking other steps to reduce runoff.

Portland is following the lead of Lewiston and Bangor in exploring dedicated stormwater fees to pay for infrastructure improvements needed to handle runoff from larger storms such as the nor’easter headed toward Maine this week.

The city is in the midst of $170 million worth of infrastructure improvements to reduce sewer and stormwater pollution as required under an agreement with the federal government.

Property owners can estimate their stormwater fees on a website, www.cleangrowthclean water.com, set up by the city.

Here is a list of other meetings to gather feedback on the proposal:

n District 1: Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in East End Community School.

n District 2: Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at Reiche School and Community Center.

n District 3: Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Italian Heritage Center

n Citywide meeting: Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers at City Hall

n District 4: Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at Presumpscot School.

n District 5: Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at Riverton Community Center

For more information, including links to a presentation and fact sheets on the proposal, go to http://goo.gl/e0RV57.

Kevin Miller can be contacted at 791-6312 or at:

kmiller@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinMillerPPH

Copy the Story Link