Laramie Council Weighs Capped Stormwater Fees, Draft Ordinance Expected
At a November 12 work session Laramie city staff presented capped fee scenarios for the city storm and surface water utility, showing options that would sustain roughly seven hundred thousand dollars a year in operations but leave differing levels of capital funding over ten years. The council asked staff to draft ordinance language aligned with a compromise cap and return with budget materials before a formal vote, a decision that will affect residential and commercial payers as well as future infrastructure planning in Albany County.
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City staff presented elected officials with two capped fee scenarios for Laramie storm and surface water charges at a November 12 work session, prompting a discussion about fairness, long term capital needs and billing mechanics. Staff said both cap scenarios would fund about seven hundred thousand dollars annually for operations, but would produce materially different capital totals over a ten year planning horizon.
The scenarios on the table paired a thirty dollar residential cap with either a lower nonresidential cap of roughly one hundred dollars or a higher nonresidential cap of roughly two hundred dollars. Staff briefed council members on the tradeoffs, including the immediate predictability that caps provide ratepayers and the longer term reduction in pay as you go capital funding that caps would cause. Council members raised concerns about equity between residential accounts and commercial accounts, and about preserving existing credit programs for properties that provide detention or other stormwater mitigation.
City staff also highlighted recent maintenance improvements after hiring two operators to service the storm system, and warned that imposing caps would shrink the pool of available capital for multi year projects. Staff said that under capped scenarios the city would likely need to rely more heavily on grants or to reprioritize capital projects, a shift that could delay planned upgrades to stormwater infrastructure that affect drainage and flood mitigation across Albany County neighborhoods.
Per staff, the council directed them to begin drafting an ordinance roughly aligned with a two hundred thirty dollar cap, a figure discussed in session as a compromise point, and to return with proposed ordinance language and supporting budget materials before the council schedules a formal vote. Public commenters at the work session raised concerns about fairness for different classes of property owners, about preserving credits for detention features, and about technical issues in converting existing billing units to a capped fee regime.
The proposal is a developing local government issue that implicates residents and businesses differently depending on property type and stormwater impact. For homeowners the thirty dollar residential cap would limit annual charges, but commercial property owners could face higher per account fees under whatever nonresidential cap is adopted. For city planners and finance staff the caps will force choices about which capital projects proceed without external funding.
Next steps include staff drafting ordinance language, completing budget analyses and returning to the council for deliberation and a potential public hearing. Residents and business owners with an interest in stormwater policy and local infrastructure funding should monitor upcoming council meetings and budget postings to weigh in before a final decision is made.
