City officials are considering changes to Washington’s stormwater program, including possible increases in stormwater fees.

The issue came up briefly during the City Council’s meeting Monday when City Manager Brian Alligood and city department heads spoke to the council about several matters regarding strategic planning. The council indicated it plans to further explore possible changes to the stormwater program during its upcoming budget sessions, which begin Tuesday with a review of funding requests from outside agencies such as the Zion Shelter & Kitchen and the Purpose of God Annex.

“We obviously have some challenges in stormwater. We have some challenges in funding how we do that,” City Manager Brian Alligood said. “That program hasn’t been looked at in many, many years, and we believe it needs to be looked at again. We’re going to bring you a proposal to come back an look at it to make some adjustments in rates, to look at projects that need to be done and how we fund those projects and do that over a time period, a 10- to 15-year period, so that we’re constantly not saying, ‘I’m sorry; we don’t have the money to do this.’ We’ll have a plan. We have an engineering plan; we know what needs to be done. We just don’t have the money to do it.”

Councilman Doug Mercer responded, “You’re exactly correct. Councilman (Bobby) Roberson and I sat on the committee in 2001 … and the stormwater fee was to be set aside for capital projects. There was a good chunk of money that had accumulated, and in one of those prior years, there was a need for money. So, they dipped into that pot, and now the pot’s empty. We’ve just got to bite the bullet and say, ‘Here’s what that money’s for. Even though there’s a big pot sitting over there, we can’t put our fingers in it.’”

Alligood challenged the council to “think about all of the costs associated with that, not just the capital costs.”

“When you look at stormwater there are a lot of things that go into stormwater, not just the capital. We should be funding those — the ongoing maintenance — the things that keep that system open and running, not just the capital, with those stormwater fees,” he said.

Roberson said the program needs study to determine if some people are being undercharged or overcharged.

“I don’t mind taking a look at storm drainage. If we have to increase it, so be it. We’ll take a look at it,” he said.

“You’re definitely going to have to increase it,” Alligood said.

“OK; that’s fine,” Roberson said.

“Our commitment to you is to do that in a manner that’s fair and appropriate and charges the user for the impact that they’re making,” Alligood said.

The city increased stormwater fees by 5 percent on July 1, 2007. The fees are based on a structure’s impervious surface (roof, parking lot, driveway). Revenue generated by the fees are used to help pay for drainage projects.

Several budget-related items, including council work on the budget, are scheduled in coming weeks, with a public hearing on the proposed budget set for May 11 and a tentative date of May 25 for budget adoption. Alligood’s proposed budget is expected to be delivered to the council by April 13, when it may be viewed by the public at City Hall.