Dover City Council discusses alternative funding options for stormwater utilities.
Dover’s city manager and staff reviewed criteria for various grants to supplement stormwater utility costs following the Nov. 12 council committee meeting, where Councilman Roy Sudler, Jr. made a motion to consider options other than relying on taxpayers.
Several council members at last month’s meeting raised concerns about zoning and increasing utility costs for taxpayers.
The city manager and his team looked into a grant from the EPA, federal loans, adjusting the city’s financial policies and reducing expenses – though that includes pushing off projects that will only get more expensive going forward.
Several funding options do not neatly fit Dover’s needs, as funds are largely needed for operational expenses, not improvement projects, according to assistant city manager Sharon Duca. One funding option, for example, must go toward green infrastructure improvements.
“Most of our projects are capacity projects, trying to fix failing infrastructure as well as improving the overall quantity capturing of the system,” Duca said. “It should also be noted that these funding sources are for actual improvement projects. They're not for operational expenses.”
Some council members want to go back to the way things were – with stormwater utilities being funded out of the General Fund.
Controller-treasurer Patricia Marney says that’s possible.
“That doesn't mean that there [are] not consequences to doing it. The consequences of doing that [are] still either a tax increase or an electric rate increase,” Marney said.
Council members also discussed pulling funds from the Electric Fund, which could cover the costs but would have to be paid back. Marney said that will affect the city’s bond rating and raise interest rates for the city. It could also result in increased property taxes and electric fees for constituents.
“You're either you're kicking the can down the road, sort of speak. You’re trading one expense for another,” Marney said.
“This approach, I believe, was very well intended. It makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways, but for a lot of reasons, it just hasn't worked,” Council president David Anderson said.
Council members passed a motion to move stormwater utilities back to the General Fund, and anyone who has paid a stormwater utility bill will get a refund or credit from the city. Councilman Brian Lewis was the only one to abstain from the vote.
Since the last month’s meeting, city staff have addressed some customer concerns, including changing the log-in process to pay stormwater utilities. The city is still looking for other solutions.