The Lubbock City Council on Thursday will consider the second reading of a budget amendment of $405,191 to again overhaul storm water fees.
The city spent $611,000 in 2013 with Freese and Nichols, Inc. to develop a storm water rate system. The council wanted a system based on the amount of impermeable surface area on a particular property rather than just a flat fee for each property owner.
The new system took effect on January 1, 2015 and has been the subject of many complaints.
A replacement system has not been finalized, but, whatever council decides, public records said the city will need outside help from Freese and Nichols. Officials documents said the previous work plus the new work will add up to $1,016,191.
Public records said, “Consultant services are required to help with the potential transition of billing methodologies to restructure the City’s current storm water utility billing system.”
The agenda also said, “Their services are necessary to provide multiple rate model scenarios as have been requested by Council and to evaluate the equitability of the different scenarios.”
Ideas have so far included a return to the flat fee, or some sort of hybrid system where there is a base rate and then a surcharge is derived from the amount of impermeable surface on a particular property.
