Poll: Rescinding Laramie’s Surface Water Drainage Fees

The Laramie City Council is slated to consider a proposal to rescind the city's new Surface Water Utility Fee at the Tuesday Council Meeting.

The proposal will be introduced on Tuesday, and would need to win majority approval on three readings to be finalized.

The fee was implemented to pay for a new program aimed at  "addressing storm water runoff, minimizing flood risks, and enhancing the resilience of Laramie’s drainage infrastructure" in the words of a news release.

According to that release the fee is assessed based on  "the amount of impervious surface—such as rooftops, driveways, and paved areas—that contributes to runoff. The fee structure ensures that funding is distributed equitably based on a property’s contribution to stormwater runoff."

While property owners will be charges on the basis of impervious surface area, credits towards the fees are also available based on such things as rain gardens, permeable pavement and detention basins.

On Thursday Councilman Matt Lockhart told Laramie Live via email

. "We need the infrastructure but the fee structure is outrageous for many residents and lots and lots of businesses. We need to rescind the ordinance and make modifications to the fee structure. 

We can do one of two things. Continue it as a fee-based system with modifications or put it on a ballot as a tax. That would be a great survey question. What would people prefer. "

Give Us Your Opinion In Our Online Poll!

With that in mind, we have a two part poll question. Part one asks if you favor rescinding the current fee?

And if the answer is yes...what next?