Tyranny Keeps Riding High
Host
Joshua Black
Description
Three council committees meet to discuss changes they will force you to make
Listen
Transcript
Welcome to the 7th edition of the Saint Petersburg Florida Area News podcast for the year 2019. I’m your host, Joshua Black, and this episode will cover the three committee meetings held on February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day!
The first committee to meet was the Budget, Finance, and Taxation Committee (aka BF&T). The first presentation was regarding the planned rate restructuring for the stormwater collection. The city has decided to charge ratepayers based on the square footage of “impervious area” on their property. This change will take place beginning October 1, if all goes according to plan. There are four tiers, based on square footage of IMPERVIOUS area, not lot size, not percentage of impervious area, etc.
The consultant explained that, in hard rain events, the stormwater that will enter the city’s collection system will not be affected by the pervious area, because most of that water will simply run off. No explanation was given, however, about the fact that most storms aren’t that hard. In fact, the consultant himself called it “a 100 year storm.” Basically, he recommends that the city penalize ratepayers for what MIGHT happen during a “100 year storm,” but not what the city does collect. In fact, the city is deliberately moving away from the metered collection measurements.
But, if the city accepts all of his recommendations, the property owners will be able to work with the city to reduce their rates. This is where the tyranny portion comes in.
First, though, the city’s portal will show you what your new liability will be based on the city’s assessment of your property’s impervious surface area. Then you can appeal their findings, so long as you do all the expensive work of showing via a professional service how their assessment is in error.
Then, whether you find the city’s assessment accurate or not, there are credits proposed so that, if you install certain “green infrastructures”--like rain barrels, rain gardens, or anything else designed by man to clear “suspended solids” from stormwater--then the city will lower your rates accordingly, based on the percentage of stormwater they estimate will be cleared by your property. Basically, it’s a reward for water they don’t have to treat.
In addition, you could make it so that your property actually retains all of the rain that falls on it. For that you would get a “stormwater management credit,” based on how much water the property would be expected to hold during that mythical 100 year storm.
And, if you live on the water and you install somethings to make sure the runoff is cleared before entering the Tampa Bay or other bodies of water, you could qualify for the Tidal Water Discharge Credit.
The consultant noted that these options are all very expensive. Anyone who did any of these recommended things would be spending thous...
