Railroad tracks and roadbeds are pervious due to the gap-graded ballast used in construction which allows stormwater infiltration. Paved surfaces and buildings associated with railroad yard and facilities are impervious in the same way as other properties.

New properties will begin paying the stormwater fee when a certificate of occupancy is issued by the City Inspections Department. This coincides with billing of utility services such as water, sanitary sewer, gas and electricity. New residential properties will be billed a single ERU. New non-residential properties will be charged based on the amount of impervious area reported as required on the site plan which must be reviewed and approved by the City.

Each non-residential property will be measured (see #3 above) to determine the amount of impervious area on the property. That impervious area will be converted to ERUs based on one ERU per 2,585 square feet of impervious area. All partial ERUs will be rounded up to the next whole number and the property will be billed the amount of the number of ERUs times the Stormwater Service Fee rate (currently $6.00/ERU/month). The fee will appear on the City utility bill and no bill will be for less than 1 ERU.

Partial payments of the City utility bill will be applied to charges on the bill in accordance with the City’s payment application schedule as maintained by the Finance Department. This procedure applies to all charges on the utility bill. Collection procedures for non-payment will follow the standard City process for collection of any delinquent utility bill.

For residential rental properties, generally, the party responsible for the City utility bill will receive the Stormwater Service Fee. In some special residential cases, the fee will be billed to the property owner or manager. For non-residential rental properties, the fee will be established in accordance with item 5 above and the bill sent to the party receiving the utility bill in the case of single tenants. Where multiple, non-residential tenants are present, the bill will be sent to the owner, property manager, or whoever is responsible for the tax bill. Special arrangements will be made for properties which do not have other City utility services. In these special cases, the bill can be sent to the owner, renter, or some other responsible party such as a mortgage company or trustee. In cases of disputed responsibility, the owner of the property will ultimately be responsible for payment of the service fee. Where desired and approved by the City Stormwater Program Manager, special Per Account Billing can be set up to have the fee billed to nonresidential tenants. To implement Per Account Billing, the owner or designated representative must apply through the Stormwater Program Manager.

Each residential property will be charged for one ERU. The fee will appear on the City utility bill.

A property’s impact on stormwater quantity and quality doesn’t change significantly because of occupancy, therefore the Stormwater Service Fee applies whether or not the property is occupied. When the property becomes vacant and other City utility services are cut off, the Stormwater Service Fee will be assigned to the property owner for payment. The City’s standard collection procedures will apply if the owner is delinquent.

A property’s impact on stormwater quantity and quality doesn’t change significantly because of occupancy, therefore the Stormwater Service Fee applies whether or not the property is occupied. Once a residential, rental property becomes vacant and other utilities are cut off, the owner will have a grace period of 6 months to re-rent the property and resume Stormwater Service Fee payment. Since the service fee covers the entire month in which it was billed, the 6-month grace period will start on the first day after the last paid bill. Stormwater Service Fees for the vacant period will be waived so long as service payment is resumed within 6 months. If the grace period is exceeded, the Stormwater Service Fee will be assigned to the property owner and will accrue from the date of last payment. If the grace period is exceeded, water, sewer, gas and electrical services will not be connected until the back Stormwater Service Fees are paid and the account is brought up to date.

The Stormwater Service Fee will apply to the calendar month in which it is billed. There will be no pro-rating of service fees for partial months. For example, a service fee billed in July will cover the entire month of July, even if the property was vacated half way through the month.

The City Council is responsible for setting and adjusting City taxes and no changes are anticipated as a result of this Utility. The revenue from the Stormwater Management Utility will be used only for stormwater management within the City of Wilson. City tax revenues are not sufficient to support the City’s Stormwater Management Program and the services to be provided by the Utility-funded Stormwater Program far exceed any the City has provided in the past.