The day after the Public Service Board voted to reduce stormwater fees in an attempt to douse the growing storm of opposition, at least one city representative tried to keep the issue alive.
Mission Valley Rep. Eddie Holguin issued a news release Thursday in which he emphasized that while the PSB decreased the fees by 37 percent, residents and businesses still were paying more than they had before the fees were instituted, which, of course, was nothing.
Holguin, who titled the news release "Storm Fee Fiasco!", said in an interview that he thought the utility projections for necessary construction was excessive. He also questioned why the nearly $200-plus million in certificates of obligation for emergency projects after Storm 2006 were not enough.
Holguin said that because El Paso residents were paying the debt service for the certificates of obligation, the stormwater fee is, in essence, a second tax for stormwater management.
When asked whether there is a problem with flooding, and whether the city's drainage system needed both added infrastructure and more ongoing maintenance, he said that wasn't the issue he was trying to raise.
"I don’t want you to shift the focus," Holguin said. ""What I'm trying to highlight is what they're doing, how you're being double taxed, how they claim fees are down when they're up 63 percent. I'm trying to stress this is wrong what they're doing."
He also questioned whether the type of storm that hit El Paso in 2006 was likely to happen again any time soon.
"Taking what they said at face value, at a 500-year flood we're not going to have another one in 493 years. As ridiculous as it sounds, I am just quoting what my colleagues have been saying," Holguin said.
The 500-year flood claim was used by city officials to explain why the flooding so overwhelmed drainage systems. The public explanation, which was not universally accepted, is that such an event is not likely more than once every 500 years -- or put another way, that it has a .2 percent probability of happening in any given year. Holguin was one of those who initially questioned the claim that this was a 500-year flood, and when asked why he now was using that calculation, he said, "Because now you're taxing me out of my home, that's why."
Eastridge Mid-Valley city Rep. Steve Ortega, who supported the stormwater district, said he appreciated Holguin's concerns and was willing to discuss policy alternatives.
"I think most people realize there's a problem that needs to be addressed, and if there are better solutions to address the problem than the one on the table right now I'd love to listen to it and debate the merits," Ortega said. "But to acknowledge there's a problem without proposing a solution gets the community nowhere."
The new fees approved by the PSB Wednesday night are effective June 7.
-- Residential fees are charged in three categories. Small is 0–1,200 square feet, and the charge will go from $2.38 to $1.49. Typical is 1,201–3,000 square feet, and the charge will go from $4.75 to $2.97. Large is 3,000 square feet and above, and the charge will go from $9.50 to $5.94.
-- Non-Residential fee charges will go from $4.85 per 2,000 square feet of impermeable surface to $3.03.
From the PSB news release, "Master planning, increased system maintenance and open space preservation will not be affected, but some projects will be delayed. These changes reduce the stormwater utility’s 10-year capital budget from $276 million to $156 million, which results in a substantial decrease in stormwater fees.
"All schools, social service and nonprofit agencies, and churches will pay 25 percent of the new rate this year, 50 percent in the second year, and 75 percent in the third year. Beginning with the fourth year, they will pay the full non-residential fee. This change allows these entities to plan for and budget stormwater fees.
"The Board also approved an additional 10 percent credit for non-residential customers who have on-site ponds required by city ordinance. Entities must apply for exemptions, such as ponding or nonprofit status, on an annual basis.
"No further adjustment to the fees will be required for three years or more."
Holguin's news release also stated that the PSB capital budget of $276 million was a five-year budget, and that even though people were being charged only 63 percent of the original fee, it was extended to 10 years, which would be an actual increase in the overall budget.
But he could not explain where he got the five-year term for the $276 million capital budget. He said he saw it in a news article, but NPT could find no reference in recent El Paso Times and NPT articles, or in PSB news releases.
