Manatee Again Looking Closely at Stormwater Fee

BRADENTON – After another work session Tuesday, Manatee County seems intent to move forward with the implementation of a stormwater fee to fund related water drainage and maintenance projects.

The county commission was briefed by staff during the session, who explained the county's responsibilities and the challenges in dealing with the nearly 60 inches of rainwater the county typically gets each year.

Talk of a potential stormwater fee has been going on for nearly three decades, but the recent intensity of storms and rainfall over the past couple of years has moved the issue closer to implementation than any time since. A previous effort to pass such a measure back in 2000 failed.

Public Works, a department whose resources commissioners say have been stretched thin in recent years, was clearly excited at the prospect of additional money to maintain the more than 1,300 miles of runoff systems in Manatee, in addition to street drain inlets, along with some 750 acres of stormwater retention ponds, all of which require regular inspection, cleaning and repairs.

Manatee County's Director of Parks and Natural Resources, Charlie Hunsicker, also noted that the county would be in a better position to receive stormwater grants from the state, which does not tend to extend such resources to counties and municipalities that do not have some kind of other funding mechanism beyond property taxes in place.

There will be three more workshops on the subject in January, February, and March, during which staff will continue to educate commissioners on their vision for implementing the fee and utilizing its resources. Action on the issue could then be taken sometime after the March workshop.