Laramie City Council To Look At Suspending Surface Water Fee Tonight

The Laramie City Council tonight is scheduled to take up a proposal to rescind a Surface Water Drainage Utility Fee

The  proposal will be introduced on Tuesday, and would need to win majority approval on three readings to be finalized.

The fee was implemented to pay for a new program aimed at  "addressing storm water runoff, minimizing flood risks, and enhancing the resilience of Laramie’s drainage infrastructure" in the words of a news release.

According to that release the fee is assessed based on  "the amount of impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, and paved areas—that contributes to runoff. The fee structure ensures that funding is distributed equitably based on a property’s contribution to stormwater runoff."

While property owners will be charges on the basis of impervious surface area, credits towards the fees are also available based on such things as rain gardens, permeable pavement and detention basins.

Laramie City Councilman Sees Two Options To Replace The Fee

On Thursday Councilman Matt Lockhart told Laramie Live via email

. "We need the infrastructure but the fee structure is outrageous for many residents and lots and lots of businesses. We need to rescind the ordinance and make modifications to the fee structure. 

We can do one of two things. Continue it as a fee-based system with modifications or put it on a ballot as a tax.

An online poll by Townsquare Media over the weekend seemed to show overwhelming report for rescinding the fee

With 788 people voting, 675, or just under 86 percent were in favor of scrapping the fee. You can see the poll results here.