Bradenton stormwater rates increase 6 percent

BRADENTON — Bradenton residents will pay a quarter more each month to maintain the city’s stormwater system as of Oct. 1, after the city council approved a 6 percent rate hike Wednesday.

Public Works Director Claude Tankersley told council members the increase is necessary to bridge a growing gap between expenses and revenue. Council unanimously approved a resolution to increase the fees.

Tankersley said materials and construction costs have risen 53 percent since the stormwater fund was implemented in 2003, while personnel spending has decreased 25 percent.

The rate increase is a first for the stormwater fund. It will raise an additional $83,000 and allow the fund to remain solvent, Tankersley said.

“This is the first year we really couldn’t balance it out,” Tankersley said. “We were trying to work smarter for several years, but we have run out of the opportunity to do that.”

Most residential customers will see their stormwater charges rise from $4 to $4.25 per month, while businesses will incur proportional hikes based on the amount of impervious area, which is area covered by material that doesn’t absorb water, on its property, Tankersley said.

Tankersley also asked the council to consider a 2.5 percent increase on water and sewer rates. Council will hold a public hearing on that rate hike during a Sept. 22 regular meeting. If approved, the increase also would go into effect Oct. 1.

During an Aug. 4 budget workshop, the public works department proposed an increase to help cover an expected 6 percent revenue shortfall. The rest will be made up with operations cuts and other savings.

Tankersley said the cost of chemicals to treat city water has risen 105 percent in the past six years, while the total number of customers is down from a high of 15,200 to 13,800.

“Unfortunately, the cost of some things that are out of our control went up, while our revenues went down,” Tankersley said. “If a water or sewer line breaks, we have to fix that.”

David Beauchamp, the public works department’s support services section manager, said an average family of four that uses less than 5,000 gallons of water per month will see its total monthly utility bill increase from $78.32 to $80.30 with the stormwater rate increase and the water-sewer rate hike if the latter is approved.

City utility bills include charges for water and sewer, garbage, stormwater, a county dumping fee and a 10 percent tax on water usage, he said.