§ 40-519.1. Stormwater user fee billing rates.

(a)

The stormwater utility shall impose a stormwater user fee charge on all developed properties within the service area in accordance with the provisions of this division. The stormwater utility shall apportion the cost of delivering stormwater services to all developed properties based on the demand the property places on the city's stormwater management program, the stormwater services provided by the city and the benefits derived by the property as a result of the provision of services.

(b)

The mayor and city commission shall establish by resolution the stormwater user fee rate, and the commencement date of billing. The billing rates may be modified by the mayor and city commission from time to time to meet the financial and operational needs of the Cornelia Stormwater Utility. A current schedule of said rates shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk of Cornelia. In setting or modifying such rates, it shall be the goal of the city to establish rates that are fair, equitable and reasonable, and which, together with other funding sources available to the Cornelia stormwater utility for services, systems, and/or facilities related to stormwater management are sufficient to support the cost of the stormwater management program, including, but not limited to, the payment of principal and interest on debt obligations, lease payments, operating expenses, capital outlays, non-operating expenses, provisions for prudent reserves and other stormwater utility related costs as deemed appropriate by the city.

(c)

Stormwater user fee charges shall be based upon the total number of equivalent residential units (ERUs) associated with developed properties within the city. Each ERU shall correspond to 3,300 square feet of impervious surface.

(d)

Gravel and compacted soil driveways, parking areas, and roads on private property will be considered partial impervious surface and included in the customer's ERU calculation because of the hydrologic response characteristics of these materials. However, the total surface area associated with these materials will be calculated at 90 percent of the total ERUs to reflect the hydrologic response characteristics of these materials.

(e)

The periodic stormwater user fee charges imposed on all developed properties shall be calculated by multiplying the stormwater user fee billing rate (per ERU) times the number of ERUs for each customer account. The number of ERUs that will be utilized to calculate the user fee charge for each customer account shall be in general accordance with the following:

(1)

SFR Customer Class: Each SFR customer account shall be charged 1.0 ERU per month unless the conditions outlined below applies.

a.

If two customer accounts are assigned to a SFR property (i.e. a duplex) then each customer account on that parcel will be charged 0.5 ERU per month for billing purposes.

(2)

NSFR Customer Class: Each NSFR customer shall be charged 1.0 ERU for each 3,300 square feet, or increment thereof, of impervious surface located on the property to establish the total number of ERUs for billing. Fractional ERUs will be rounded to one decimal place to establish the number of ERUs for billing each month.

(3)

Undeveloped Land Customer Class: Undeveloped land shall be assigned 0 ERUs and will not receive a stormwater user fee bill.

(Ord. No. 09-16-01, 10-4-2016)