Berkeley Moving Ahead With Stormwater Fee

Berkeley County Council moved ahead with plans for a new stormwater fee, but with evident heartburn and a pledge from county supervisor Dan Davis that council members would get a workshop on the issue prior to the final vote Sept. 26.

The council voted 6-3 in support of the stormwater fee. Vice chairman Steve Davis, Cathy Davis and Dennis Fish voted against the fee.

The county has been paying for a federally mandated water monitoring program out of general tax collections. Now, the county and municipalities are considering moving to a fee-based stormwater program.

The proposed interim fees would range from $18 to $36 per year for homeowners, $108 per year for businesses and $72 for non-profits.

The proposed stormwater program the fee will pay for is much more expensive: $750,000 in 2012 and then increase to $1.4 million in both 2013 and 2014.

The county spent nearly $50,000 on stormwater maintenance in the last year.

Engineering department director Frank Carson has said permit requirements from the state and a detailed study to determine the permanent fee rates warrant have caused the increase. The county will have to make a stronger effort toward public education on the impacts of stormwater runoff.

“The perception is that we just have to monitor stormwater, when, in fact, there has to be a lot of planning,” he said.

Opponents argue the new fee is a backdoor way to generate revenue and that this isn’t the time for new fees on anyone.

"I'm sure rural residents don't have $36 to hand over to the county come October,” says resident Truman Metts.

Metts and 10 to 12 residents, including several members of Goose Creek 9-12, protested against the proposed fees in front of the Berkeley County administration building.

One side read: "There's not a dime's worth of difference between a fee and a tax."

The county will be collecting the fee from unincorporated areas and there are talks of collecting the fee for Hanahan, which needs to develop its own stormwater plan or partner with the county. Goose Creek currently pays for its stormwater management costs through its general fund and likely won’t consider a change until the end of the year when it prepares the 2012 budget.

Monday night, Councilman Bob Call moved for the second of three required votes before the new fee is approved, but he said the mandated stormwater program is frustrating.

“I resent it with everything in me,” he said.

Vice Chairman Steve Davis called for more review of the program, including how much would be collected and what it would pay for.

“This is a very confusing issue,” he said. “It warrants looking at this real close.”