03112018 - News Article - Three businesses file formal appeals over 'excessive' increases in Portage stormwater fees

Three businesses file formal appeals over 'excessive' increases in Portage stormwater fees
NWI Times
March 11, 2018
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/three-businesses-file-formal-appeals-over-excessive-increases-in-portage/article_2aa42199-a4bc-5156-8b25-4e8575f27993.html

PORTAGE — Three businesses have filed appeals claiming the city's new stormwater fees charged to businesses are excessive.

Allen Bridges, vice president and manager of Doyne's Marina, said the marina's fees increased 9,400 percent with the new system.

Bridges told the Utility Services Board during an appeal hearing that prior to October 2017, the 8-acre marina did not pay any stormwater fees at all. In October, they were charged $11.75 a month. Bridges said they didn't appeal the fee then because marina ownership didn't feel it was worth the time.

In January, he said, the bill went to $12 per month. In February, it climbed to $1,140 per month.

"Imagine our surprise to be billed $1,140, a 9,400 percent increase, with no notice. Upon inquiring as to the drastic increase in fees, I was told that the city had changed the formula as to how businesses are charged. One would think that a cost increase of this magnitude would come with a more detailed explanation than just the city changed its method of calculation," Bridges said.

The Utility Services Board adopted the new fee schedule in November. Previously, businesses had been charged stormwater fees based on the size of their water meters. The new system charges fees based on the amount of impervious surface on their property. Residential fees were unchanged.

The fees initially were to be charged beginning in January, but were delayed because of concerns of a potential lawsuit against the board. At its February meeting, the board directed the fees to be charged effective with the February billing. A lawsuit was filed March 1 by Mayor James Snyder against the City Council, which also serves as the USB, challenging the legality of the board and the validity of the ordinance creating the new fee structure. At its March 6 meeting, the USB approved holding all incoming fees based on the new system in an escrow account pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Brian Gurgeon, who owns property at 5440 E. Melton Road, said his bill increased from $25 per month to $240 per month.

"Why so much, why such a dramatic increase? I'm trying to sell the property, and this is going to make it more difficult," Gurgeon said.

A third appeal was filed by James Pawlicki, owner of A1-U-Stor-It, 6094 Melton Road. Pawlicki told the board that his bill went from nothing to $1,140 per month.

Pawlicki asked the board to reconsider including his stone driveways in the impervious surface measurements. His business is located on sand, he said, which still allows drainage.

"I propose that not all rock surfaces are alike. Rock laid on a sand base could be considered to be pervious, which allows the water to percolate through the said," Pawlicki said.

Chris Scott, owner of commercial property on Douglas Drive, also questioned the new fee structure, but has not filed a formal appeal as outlined in the ordinance. Scott said his company's fees went from $24 per month to $240 per month for "absolutely no reason."

"For whatever reason, if the building didn’t have city sewer service or Indiana-American Water service, we didn’t bill them for stormwater. This dates back to the initial fee in 2010," Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham said as to why some businesses weren't being charged stormwater fees, even at the old rate, prior to the new system.

"As part of the impervious surface study work from Wessler Engineering, they identified those properties that should be assessed a stormwater fee, but weren’t being billed. There’s about 120 or so of them," Stidham said.

In addition, Stidham said, a flyer was sent to everyone about the new impervious system in October, which provided some information, but did not provide the rates that were finalized in November.

While the board discussed sending notifications to businesses that would see large increases, Stidham said the notices were never sent because of the potential of a lawsuit and the delay in sending out the new billings. Once it was decided at a Feb. 6 USB meeting to begin charging the fees that month, it gave his office little time to prepare the bills, so no advanced notification was sent.

"It certainly would have been our preference to send out such a notice if we could have," Stidham said.

The appeals were taken under advisement by the board. Chairman Scott Williams said the appeals will be reviewed by the city and will be considered only on the calculations of square footage used to determine the fees for each company.