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THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AS WE SHARE INFORMATION ON THE STATUS OF OUR STORM WATER UTILITY DISTRICT AND PROPOSED STORM WATER FEE FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT WATER MANAGEMENT IS A WAY OF LIFE IN BATON ROUGE.
THE QUALITY, THE QUANTITY AND MOVEMENT OF WATER WITHIN OUR PARISH IMPACTS EVERY FACET OF OUR LIVES.
FROM THE RESILIENCY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS TO OUR HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
SINCE 2016, OUR CITIZENS HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR SOLUTIONS TO OUR DRAINAGE ISSUES.
LIKE MANY OF YOU, AS YOU KNOW, MY HOME WAS FLOODED IN THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2016.
THAT'S WHY WHEN I TOOK OFFICE IN 2017, I MADE IT A PRIORITY OF MY ADMINISTRATION TO UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESSED THE ISSUES FACING OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
MY ADMINISTRATION HAS SOUGHT TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WOULD ADDRESS STORM WATER ISSUES AND REDUCE FLOOD RISK.
THROUGH OUR STORM WATER MASTER PLAN, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE STATUS OF OUR STORM WATER SYSTEM, CRITICAL MAINTENANCE NEEDS, AND AN IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AND WHERE WATER FLOWS THROUGHOUT OUR PARISH.
THIS WORK HAS GIVEN US THE FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE WE NEED TO CREATE LONG STANDING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR STORM WATER SYSTEM.
AND NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS KNOWLEDGE, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT ON THIS KNOWLEDGE.
THE REALITY IS THE CITY PARISH LACKS THE FUNDING AND MANPOWER REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT AN ADEQUATE LONG TERM STORM WATER MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY.
THIS HAS DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIRE SITUATION IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES IN TODAY.
FEDERAL AND STATE REGULATIONS REQUIRE LARGE MUNICIPALITIES LIKE BATON ROUGE TO OPERATE AND MAINTAIN A MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM WATER SEWER SYSTEM, ALSO KNOWN AS S FOUR.
SINCE JUNE OF 2021, THE CITY PARISH HAS BEEN DOING THE WORK DEMANDED BY OUR CITIZENS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
USING OUR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS, WE'VE REMOVED NEARLY 20 MILLION POUNDS OF DEBRIS FROM OUR DRAINAGE SYSTEM, CATCHING UP ON YEARS OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.
WHILE WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE APA DOLLARS, THIS FUNDING IS SHORT TERM AND A LONG TERM PLAN MUST BE IN PLACE TO SUSTAIN ALL THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE SO FAR.
MY ADMINISTRATION IS PROPOSING A STORM WATER UTILITY FEE, WHICH IF APPROVED BY THE METRO COUNCIL, WILL FUND OUR STORM WATER UTILITY DISTRICT, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN LOUISIANA.
THE STORM WATER UTILITY DISTRICT WILL ALLOW CITY PARISH TO CONTINUE WORKING ON A REGULAR BASIS TO REDUCE FLOOD RISK FOR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS CAN FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, HAVING POSITIVE IMPACTS ON LITTER, DRAINAGE, AND EVEN CRIME.
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BATON ROUGE IS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY AND CREATE A SYSTEM OF OUR OWN DESIGN.THE ALTERNATIVE IS COSTLY FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT ACTION.
MY ADMINISTRATION REMAINS COMMITTED TO ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF OUR MS FOUR TO PREVENT FEDERAL ACTION AND CONSENT DECREES, BUT WE MUST ACT NOW AND WE MUST ENSURE THAT WE IMPLEMENT A FAIR, EQUITABLE, AND AFFORDABLE PLAN TO FUND SOLUTIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
THIS WILL PREVENT THE EXPENSIVE MANDATES THAT COME WITH FEDERAL INTERVENTIONS.
THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE INTRODUCED AT THE OCTOBER 12TH METRO COUNCIL MEETING AND WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON OCTOBER 26TH.
AT THE METRO COUNCIL MEETING, WE WILL BE ASKING THE METRO COUNCIL TO APPROVE AN ANNUAL STORM WATER UTILITY FEE, WHICH WILL PROVIDE A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE FOR THE STORM WATER MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT WORK THROUGHOUT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, I WILL NOW HAND THIS OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER KELVIN HILL, WHO OVERSEES OUR CITY PARISH PUBLIC WORKS.
HE WILL PROVIDE MORE INSIGHT ON THE PROPOSED FEE STRUCTURE AND THE INVALUABLE WORK.
THESE DOLLARS WILL FUN, KELVIN.
WE'RE PUTTING UP A SLIDE PRESENTATION TO SHOW, UH, SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE STONE WATER UTILITY FEE.
THE FIRST QUESTION I LIKE TO TRY TO ANSWER IN THESE SLIDES IS REALLY HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE RATE? BASICALLY, WE'VE LOOKED AT, UH, HOW MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED.
WE'VE HAD THAT VALIDATED THROUGH A RATE STUDY THAT WAS DONE BY BLACK AND VE.
WE BELIEVE WE NEED 36.5 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE TO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT'S REQUIRED.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT HOW DO WE MEASURE THE BILLABLE UNITS, UM, FOR THIS EFFORT, AND WE'VE DONE THAT THROUGH THE IMPERVIOUS AREA OF EACH PARCEL.
IN THE CITY PARISH, THERE ARE ROUGHLY 169,000 PARCELS.
EACH ONE OF THOSE PARCELS, UM, THAT ARE DEVELOPED HAVE SOME IMPACT ON OUR STORM WATER RUNOFF.
WE BELIEVE THAT THE IMPERVIOUS AREA ACROSS THE PARISH IS OVER A BILLION SQUARE FOOT.
SO, UM, THE STANDARD THAT WE'RE USING IS 500 SQUARE FOOT PER BILLING UNIT.
SO THAT GIVES US ABOUT 2.2 MILLION BILLING UNITS FOR THE PARISH.
IF WE DIVIDE THE REVENUE THAT'S NEEDED ABOUT A NUMBER OF BILLING UNITS, UM, THAT ARE REQUIRED, OR THAT WE HAVE, WE COME UP WITH ABOUT A DOLLAR AND 36 CENTS PER 500 SQUARE FOOT OF BILLING UNITS PER MONTH FOR EACH PARCEL, RIGHT? SO THAT IS THE RATE STRUCTURE THAT WE PROPOSE TO PUT IN PLACE.
ONE, WE WANT TO BE SURE IT'S FAIR.
THE FAIRNESS IS, IS THAT EVERYBODY PAYS A DOLLAR AND 36 CENT.
WE WANT TO BE SURE IT'S EQUITABLE.
IT'S EQUITABLE BECAUSE EVERYBODY PAYS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF AREA THAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR PARCEL.
NOW, THE NEXT BIG QUESTION I'D LIKE TO, TO SHARE WITH YOU IS HOW WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE THIS REVENUE.
REVENUE WILL BE UTILIZED PRIMARILY FOR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR MS FOUR.
OUR MS FOUR REQUIRES ABOUT 30 MILLION A YEAR, UH, TO, TO DO THAT.
MAINTENANCE INCLUDES THINGS LIKE, UH, CLEANING DRAIN BOXES, CLEANING, CONVEYING PIPES, UH, REPAIRING CAVE INS, POINT REPAIRS IN OUR SYSTEM, PIPE REPLACEMENTS IN OUR SYSTEM, CLEANING COVERTS AND CANALS.
UH, THOSE ARE THE TYPICAL MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE TO DO.
UH, THERE IS ALSO ABOUT 5 MILLION DEDICATED FOR WATER QUALITY AND COMPLIANCE.
THIS WILL DEAL WITH THE REGULATORY INSPECTIONS AND ENFORCEMENTS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO DO BASED ON OUR MS FOUR PERMIT.
WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT 3.5 MILLION IN FOR ENGINEERING AND PLANNING.
UH, WE ARE PLANNING TO, UM, ADMINISTER THE FEE THROUGH THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, UH, AND WE HAVE TO PAY THEM FOR THAT SUPPORT FOR THE FEE TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT 1.1 MILLION.
AND THEN WE HAVE ABOUT 1.2 MILLION IN ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, UH, FOR THE SYSTEM.
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UNDERSTAND, WE'VE CREATED SOME TYPICAL STORM WATER UTILITY FEE, UH, EXAMPLES, UH, FOR A SINGLE FAMILY OR RESIDENTIAL, UH, PROPERTY THAT'S ABOUT 800 SQUARE FOOT.THEY'RE MONTHLY CHARGES ABOUT $2 AND 18 CENTS A MONTH.
WE BELIEVE THE AVERAGE OR MEDIAN SIZED PROPERTY IN CITY PARISH IS ABOUT 3,700 SQUARE FOOT OF IMPERVIOUS AREA.
ON AVERAGE, THAT PARCEL OWNER WOULD PAY ABOUT $10 A MONTH OR $120 A YEAR.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES TEND TO BE BIGGER.
THEY TEND TO HAVE MORE IMPERVIOUS AREA BECAUSE OF CONCRETE AND PAVEMENT AND PARKING LOTS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO, UM, THEIR SQUARE FOOTAGE OF IMPERVIOUS AREA TENDS TO BE HIGHER.
THE EXAMPLE HERE SHOWS ONE FOR 25,000 SQUARE FOOT WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT $68 A MONTH.
THE OTHER THING THAT WE MAKE AVAILABLE TO OUR CITIZENS IS A WEBPAGE.
UM, ON THE WEBSITE, THE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN BR A.GOV/STORMWATER UTILITY, AND IN THAT WEBSITE THERE ARE SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS TO HELP ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT HAVE.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS A GIS MAP LAYER WHERE YOU CAN SEARCH YOUR PROPERTY, CLICK ON THAT PROPERTY.
AND IN THIS EXAMPLE, UH, WE CLICKED, UH, A CITY PARISH PROPERTY.
IT WILL TELL YOU THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY.
IT WILL TELL YOU THE AMOUNT OF IMPERVIOUS AREA.
IT WILL GIVE YOU A PROPOSED, UH, FEE FOR THE MONTHLY RATE AND THE ANNUAL RATE.
SO YOU ARE AWARE AND, AND CAN, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE ON YOU AND YOUR PARCEL.
AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE MAYOR, UH, AND WE'LL TAKE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, WE APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION, UH, THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED.
I BELIEVE IT CERTAINLY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP, UH, FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AS, UH, KELVIN SAID, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE STORMWATER UTILITY DISTRICT OR THE PROPOSED FEE, PLEASE VI VISIT B RLA.GOV/STORMWATER UTILITY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WEBSITE INCLUDES A GIS MAP WHERE RESIDENTS CAN FIND THE SPECIFIC FEE FOR THEIR PROPERTY, AS WELL AS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND INFORMATION.
I WILL ALSO ADD THAT WE WILL BE MAKING OURSELVES AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY AND COLLABORATION WITH MANY OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO GIVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, AND WE WILL NOW TAKE QUESTIONS.
NO, IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE BROUGHT IN FRONT OF VOTERS.
IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE IT'S A FEE, AND IF YOU LOOK AT YOU, YOU LET YOU, WE GONNA ASK QUESTIONS AND THEN I'M GONNA ANSWER TRYING FOLLOW UP.
I KNOW I'M A FOLLOW, I'M A FOLLOW UP, BUT DON'T, DON'T CUT ME OFF, PLEASE.
SO, IF YOU LOOK IN THE PA PLAN OF GOVERNMENT TAX AND A FEE ARE CLEARLY DEFINED, THIS IS DEFINED AS A FEE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? MM-HMM.
UM, A FEE, UH, IS THIS IS A FEE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING.
A FEE HAS TO BE TAKEN TO METRO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
UH, WE TAKE THE FEES TO METRO COUNCIL BECAUSE METRO COUNCIL HAS BEEN ELECTED BY THE VOTERS TO REPRESENT THEM IN ADMINISTERING FEES FOR THE PARISH.
IF THIS WAS A TAX, THEN A TAX WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN TO THE VOTERS TO APPROVE BECAUSE IT'S A TAX ON THE VOTERS, AND THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO VOTE ON THAT IN A GENERAL ELECTION.
PARDON? UH, RICK, THE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION IS WHAT A UTILITY AS A UTILITY IS LIKE ELECTRICAL.
IT IS LIKE YOUR SEWAGE, IT IS LIKE YOUR WATER.
UM, THE UTILITY HERE, THE STORM WATER CREATED BY IMPERVIOUS, UM, UH, BY IMPERVIOUS SURFACES THAT THEN FLOWS DOWN OUR STORM WATER SYSTEM.
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SO IF YOU ARE PAYING AN ELECTRIC BILL, IF YOU'RE PAYING A WATER BILL, IF YOU'RE PAYING A SEWAGE BILL, IT'S, IT'S A FEE.YEAH, IT'S JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE, YOU HAVE A SEWER, YOU HAVE A SEWER FEE, UH, WHICH BY THE WAY, WAS IMPLEMENTED AS A RESULT OF CONSENT DECREE
I WAS JUST TRYING TO, I GOT NO PROBLEM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IT SOUNDS LIKE NO, NO, NO.
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE DOING IS THAT WE ARE INTERVENING AND MAKING AN EFFICIENCY AROUND ADDRESSING OUR STORM WATER ISSUES THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR THIS CITY AND FOR THIS PARISH.
IT'S A FEE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE DONE.
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF ALTERNATIVES.
LONG TERM DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE IS A MUST FOR THIS CITY AND FOR THIS PARISH, AND THIS PROPOSAL WILL HELP US DO THIS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AS YOU KNOW, THE STORM WATER UTILITY DISTRICT WAS CREATED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND IMPLEMENTED IN LOCALITIES.
AND SO THAT IS WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND AS I SAID EARLIER, WE ARE GOING TO BE GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, BUT I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO GET THIS PAMPHLET TODAY, WHICH GIVES SOME VERY, UH, DETAILED INFORMATION ON WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT.
AND KELVIN, YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT? MM-HMM.
THIS WILL IMPACT LITTER BECAUSE LITTER COLLECTION IS A PART OF THE REQUIREMENT THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR MS FOUR.
IT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE SWEET SWEEPING, WE STREET SWEEPING, SAY THAT FAST
IT INCLUDES PUTTING IN MORE CONTROL STRUCTURES TO IMPROVE BOTH, UH, LITTER COLLECTION AND IMPROVING WATER QUALITY.
UH, WHAT YOU WILL FIND IS WE WILL ESTABLISH A, A WEBSITE THAT WILL SHOW THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, UH, THROUGH THIS STORMWATER UTILITY RESIDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO GO DAILY TO THAT WEBSITE TO SEE THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, WHERE THE WORK IS GOING TO BE DONE, THE STATUS OF IT, AND THE LOCATION OF IT.
WE STARTED THAT WITH THE A R P FUNDING SPENDING THAT WE HAVE, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT THROUGH THIS UTILITY FEE.
SO THERE IS A WAY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY.
THERE IS A WAY FOR INFORMATION, AND THERE'S A WAY FOR RESIDENTS TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE SPENDING THE DOLLAR.
AND LET ME REITERATE SOMETHING IF I MAY, AND WE'LL TAKE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.
THIS PROPOSAL IS BASED ON DETAILED ANALYSIS OF OUR BATON ROUGE PROPERTIES, AND IT IS ALSO BASED ON BEST PRACTICES FOR STORM WATER UTILITIES THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IN OTHER STATES AS WELL.
AS I SAID, AND I WANT TO REITERATE THIS, THAT IT IS GOING TO DELIVER AN AFFORDABLE AND AN EQUITABLE SOLUTIONS SOLUTION TO OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES, UH, IMPROVING THE OVERALL WATER QUALITY, REDUCING FLOOD RISK, AND ENHANCING OUR OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND IT WILL HELP THE CITY PARISH AVOID BURDENSOME FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS DUE TO YEARS OF UNDERFUNDED STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS.
YES, PAUL, WE DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFIC INFORMATION, PAUL, IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH MORE, BUT HISTORY TELLS US AS WE LOOK AT OTHER FEDERAL MANDATES, FOR EXAMPLE, WE DID NOT EVEN HAVE A SEWER USER FEE.
WE WERE FUNDING, UH, IT THROUGH THE GENERAL FUND.
NOW WITH THE ADVENT OF THE FEDERAL MANDATE FOR OUR SEWER, WE NOW HAVE IMPLEMENTED A SEWER FEED THAT
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WE HAD NO CONTROL OVER IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT.AND SO WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT HISTORICAL NUMBERS AND PRETTY MUCH SAY THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE MORE THAN WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING.
WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T KNOW THAT FOR SURE, BUT JUST LOOK AT OUR HISTORY.
CERTAINLY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SEWER FEE WAS MORE THAN WHAT THE AVERAGE CITIZEN HAD TO, UH, DEAL WITH.
NOT ONLY THE COST, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL MONITORING OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO FOR A LONG TERM.
SO, UH, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, IF WE HAD THE OPTION, THIS OPTION, I BELIEVE IS CERTAINLY MORE COMPATIBLE FOR US AS A CITY AND AS A PARISH.
WELL, I DON'T WANNA OVERSTEP
BUT, UH, I WILL SAY ONCE AGAIN, LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF WHAT IS TAKING PLACE.
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF GIVES US A SNAPSHOT OF THE POTENTIAL OF WHAT WE MAY BE FACING.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTION.
IF THE COUNCIL DOESN'T IMPROVE IT, APPROVE IT, UH, THEN WE WILL, UH, HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT.
I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY DO, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT IF IT IS NOT APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL, I THINK IT PUTS US IN A VERY PRECARIOUS SITUATION.
YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE PART OF OUR REGULAR SYSTEM OF MAINTENANCE FOR OUR, UH, DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
SO THE PLAN IS THAT FOR US TO HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDNESS WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR STORM WATER, WE CAN'T JUST SAY, OH, WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS.
WE HAVE TO SAY, THIS IS PART OF A WAY OF LIFE FOR US IN THE CITY AND PARISH FOR OUR, UH, WATER MANAGEMENT.
SO IT WILL BE PART OF A STORMWATER UTILITY, UH, DISTRICT THAT WILL HOPEFULLY BECAUSE WE'RE DOING IT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, AND IT NOW BECOMES A PART OF THE FABRIC OF CITY PARISH GOVERNMENT, THAT WE CAN AVOID, UH, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD WITH OUR STORM WATER ISSUES, UH, HISTORICALLY.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.