Storm Water Fee Assessment Grossly Applied

The recent bills for the Storm Water Fee need to be redone. Profound and unfair errors in the calculation exist, at least in the TIER 4 Residential Grouping.

I have requested a temporary stay on the implementation of the Storm Water Fee as I believe many residential homeowners in Tier 4 are unfairly assessed. The formula for Tier 4 is inherently flawed. It is grossly unfair to have 25% of the town’s homes average out in a manner that jumps from $52 in Tier 3 to over three times as much to $156 in Tier 4. It does not represent the actual impervious area of many of the homes lumped in TIER 4 and results in higher bills for many.

I am unable to determine the formula used for each of the tiers but why are we all not paying the $1.56 per 100 square foot of impervious area?

My home, I’m told has 5,650 sq feet of impervious area. I have been billed $156, a Tier 4 Category. I am disputing this bill and the formula because 5,650 X $1.56/100 sq. feet = $88.14. How and why am I paying $156 dollars when much, much larger properties with much larger impervious area are paying the same $156? The difference is profound and screams out for change.

Many may ask why complain when the amounts themselves are relatively small. Well, they may be so now but what fee remains low? How long will it be before the Town’s storm water system needs a major overhaul? Will this fee lead to paying for bonding in major construction storm water projects? This fee will rise and rise quickly! It needs to be fairly applied.

Jerry Burke