New Stormwater Fee Delayed After Show of Support at Council

A new $35 stormwater fee for homeowners met resistance from county administration, and was delayed by the county council before it could weather a vote.

Councilman Chris Trumbauer (D-6th District) of Annapolis is the newest public official to take a stab at funding Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts with Anne Arundel County taxpayer dollars. A similar effort in 2007 failed before the council. The proposal is co-sponsored by Councilman Dick Ladd (R-5th District) of Broadneck.

The bill Trumbauer is proposing would add a $35 annual fee on to the property tax bills for single-family homes and $25 for townhomes and condos. The money would go into a fund specifically set aside to improve stormwater management in the county.

Local governments across the region are being pressured to reduce water pollution after stricter guidelines for pollutants were set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The new stormwater management plan would seek to reduce the runoff of nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment into the bay.

Trumbauer started off his pitch at Monday night’s meeting by admitting that it wasn’t a convenient time to ask taxpayers for more money, but the need hadn’t gone away.

“The need for this bill is clear. It has never been greater,” Trumbauer said. “The county has obligations under the Bay Pollution Diet.”

Ladd highlighted that the full scope of the work this program hoped to tackle was close to a billion dollars. The fee itself would only raise between $10-15 million  each year.

“Just so people understand the gravitas of what we’re doing here, it’s just under $1 billion—$968 million,” he said.

But the county administration asked the council to hold off on implementing these plans, at least until later this year. Eric Robey, representing County Executive John Leopold’s office, said the timing for this bill was just not right.

“Ultimately timing is everything, and in county government, the timing could not be worse,” Robey said.

Robey said the nation was still reeling from the recession, and the county has taken a hit. Despite this, new taxes from the state are expected later this year, some of which may help the Bay Restoration Fund.

“I wholeheartedly agree that the timing for this is bad. The best time would have been four years ago, when a version of this was considered by the administration,” Trumbauer quipped. “But does the problem go away if the economy is bad?”

When Trumbauer asked how the county planned to fund a similar cleanup effort without additional money, Robey merely said that the county had proven to be resourceful in the past.

“We don’t always have to throw more money at issues in this county. We’ve been very resourceful in using the resources that are at our disposal,” Robey said.

Dozens of environmentalists, representing a number of organizations across the state and beyond came to testify in support of the bill. Among them were members of home builders associations, the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy and the Waterway Restoration Alliance.

Jeff Tosi, of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, praised the bill calling it an equitable solution to the problem facing the bay. Westbrook Murphy, of Edgewater, said he remembered the excuses for why they didn't pass a similar bill four years ago, "And they sounded a lot like tonight's."

Also among the supporters was 10-year-old Keaghan Muller, who pleaded with the council with a written statement, asking council members to help make the bay suitable for his generation.

“We have dirty water and cancerous catfish. We must pay our share so that future kids can have clean water,” he said. “It’s not fair that I have to pay for the millions of mistakes that elders make, causing me a financial and environmental debt.”

Detractors like Rick Hughes criticized the waves of supporters, saying they only represented a fraction of who would be paying for the fee, if implemented. 

“What’s missing here is most of the other people in the county who are going to have to pay this extra $35,” Hughes said. “These are the average homeowners who are going to be surprised by having to pay this.”

Others like Bill Sylack said they didn’t trust the government to properly handle the funds.

Councilman John Grasso (R-2nd District) of Glen Burnie said he thought the bill was a good idea, but premature. He suggested holding off on voting until the state’s task force came forward with their recommendations. He feared that residents may be hit too hard if the county implemented its own solution, only then to have the state hit residents' wallets later in the year.

Trumbauer said he wanted to work the bill over for two weeks, but didn’t want to wait much longer. The council voted in favor of delaying a vote on the bill until its next meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 19.