Monthly Mayor’s Roundtable to Focus on Stormwater, Feature Representatives from Wicomico Environmental Trust and Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Mayor James Ireton, Jr., invites the public to the Mayor's Neighborhood Roundtable being held on Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 at 6pm, in room 306 in the Government Office Building downtown.
Assistant Public Works Director, Amanda Pollack will deliver a PowerPoint presentation on stormwater, with special insight from guest speakers Karen Lukacs of the Wicomico Environmental Trust, and Erik Fisher of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
In addition to gaining a basic understanding of stormwater management, attendees will learn about local environmental initiatives, the current status of the City’s stormwater system, and the proposed Stormwater Utility legislation and fee structure.
The Salisbury City Council recently voted to implement the new Stormwater Utility Ordinance on the following timeline:
Task
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Completion Date
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Stormwater Utility Ordinance passed 1st Reading
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11/10/14
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Mayor’s Neighborhood Roundtable Outreach
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11/18/14
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Stormwater Utility Ordinance 2nd Reading
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11/24/14
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Impervious Area work from ESRGC Complete
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12/1/14
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Public Works Fee Analysis
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1/16/15
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Informational Brochure mailing (CBF assistance)
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2/2/15
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Work session to set Fee
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2/2/15
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Stormwater Utility Fee Ordinance 1st Reading
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3/9/15
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Stormwater Utility Fee Ordinance 2nd Reading
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3/23/15
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Sample bills mailed to all properties greater than 1 ERU
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4/20/15
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Provide County with Billing information
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5/18/15
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Implementation Complete
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6/30/15
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For further information contact the Mayor’s office.
14 comments:
Why would anyone voluntarily establish a rain tax? It has nothing to do with the environment. Just to move down the line toward getting control of the land.
The mayor is saying bend over so I can shove this rain tax up your wazoo.
Some of you must have no idea what the stormwater fee is and why the city has to comply.
8:45 We are waiting for your explanation.
8:57
I don't have to explain a thing to anyone. But I would expect people who are complaining about the stormwater fee to understand why the city has to comply and why MDE has even come up with the idea. It's exactly the same reason Hogan can never eliminate it. I'd hamper your expectations on that front (although I am excited for other tax and spending relief!)
Hint: EPA's NPDES & lobbyists!
I'm not 845, but I'll dang sure give you an explanation!
For many years, people of all municipalities, including Salisbury, Maryland have been assessed a certain portion of their property taxes in order to build and maintain, among other things, City stormwater inlets and piping, catch basins, TAX ditches, dams, holding ponds, curbs, gutters and the like. I mean, think about it; where do you think all that infrastructure came from?
Over the last few years, your Mayor and City Council have failed to budget as required by law the full share of monies paid in by the Taxpayers for the very purpose of building and maintaining the City's stormwater system, and in fact, have written it completely OUT of the current budget. This is why the Mayor's river in downtown Salisbury looks as trashed up as it does. The EPA continues to bring out more stringent requirements to limit the amount of pollution going into the waterways, but since your Mayor and City Council have voted among themselves to basically steal your money that you thought was going toward this and decided to spend instead on their own pet projects like bike lanes and walking route signage, bicycle racks and the like, we, the homeowners and landlords and business owners are left holding the bag of pollution and your "trusty" leaders have decided that we all need another fleecing of our hard earned money.
So now, whether you are a renter or owner, you are being told that there's no money to spend to keep up with the new EPA mandates, and you have to reach into your own pockets and pay more through another "stormwater utility fee", or rain tax.
Meanwhile, please don't forget to pay your regular yearly City property taxes, too.
Do you get it, now? Are you ready to go to the November 24th council meeting and give Jimmy's clan your opinion of the "second reading" of the Rain Tax Ordinance? I am! Whether you rent or own, you ARE ALREADY PAYING THIS TAX through your regular property taxes each year. You're also paying well more for your water bill because your City Fathers decided to buy a $88 million dollar WWTP upgrade with a voided warranty! Now, you're paying for that. And now, they want even more.
You can say no to this robbery, or just roll over and let it happen...
10:25
Great explanation, but you forgot why MDE has to make this 'separate' from the rest of your taxes. That way the funds from the stormwater fee can ONLY be used to improve water quality from runoff and can't be siphoned off the way state highway and environmental budgets tend to be in the state.
Personally, I think it would have been great for local jurisdictions to set a set price of $0 for property owners with reasonable impervious surface to lot size coverage (house + garage + walkway or whatever), while charging property owners with a substantially higher impervious surface coverage (Walmart, Kmart, PRMC, the crazy neighbor with a paved yard). But your jurisdiction did not do this. Now you are stuck with he results.
If I may help with this, The 9 counties where this tax is mandated You are required to use the funds for stormwater cleanup. No jurisdictions on the shore are mandated so any tax passed is not required to be used for stormwater cleanup. If an area voluntarily passes this tax it may be used for general budgeting. There are no requirements available for non mandatory implementation.
the city is not required to comply.
So, this is the City just stealing money, in other words.
11:07, 11:08 WRONG! And I don't mean this in a mean way. The state brushed it under rugs really well.
You were correct a couple years ago. Now phase II counties and municipalities are doing this.
http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/water/stormwatermanagementprogram/pages/programs/waterprograms/sedimentandstormwater/storm_gen_permit.aspx
Scroll down and click Phase II. Salisbury is on that list!
Let me assure you that no municipality or county on the entire eastern shore is MANDATED to implement the rain tax.
Voluntary implementation is allowed.
Eventually citizens will find out where all this environmental money goes,party on!
Rain tax? There isn't one. You don't get taxed when it rains. Did you get a bill the last time it rained? No? Because there is no rain tax.
It's a stormwater facilities fee to make sure the city can manage the runoff generated by all the impervious surfaces that construction creates. It's a way of businesses actually paying for the services whose need they generate. Imagine that, businesses actually having to pay for stuff they used to get free.
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