Stormwater Fee Increase Clears First Reading as Residents Pack Noel C. Taylor Building
Proposed 22% hike would raise the average single-family household bill by about $38 a year. Second reading set for May 12.
A proposed 22% increase in Roanoke’s stormwater utility fee cleared its first reading before City Council Monday, after nearly two hours of public comment from residents packed into the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building’s Council chamber.
The measure, which would raise the average single-family household’s annual fee from $174 to $212, is designed to fund a backlog of drainage and streambank projects the city’s public works department has flagged as high-priority since the 2023 flood that inundated parts of Wasena and Raleigh Court.
“We either pay this now or we pay it three times over when the next storm takes out the culverts under Memorial Bridge,” said Public Works Director Ian Shaw, who presented the fee structure to Council.
The increase would generate an additional $4.6 million annually. City staff said about 60% of the new revenue would be dedicated to projects in watersheds that drain to the Roanoke River, including Peters Creek and Lick Run, where capacity upgrades have been on the city’s unfunded list since 2018.
Residents who spoke during the public comment period were divided. Several from the Old Southwest and Wasena neighborhoods, which have flooded twice in the past decade, urged Council to move faster.
“I have a watermark on my front door from 2023 that I haven’t painted over because I want to remember,” said Wasena resident Phyllis Chambers. “Whatever you need to charge me to keep that from happening again — charge me.”
Others questioned the fee’s impact on renters and small-property owners. Hollins-area landlord David Minoa said the fee, which is billed by impervious surface area, hits apartment buildings disproportionately. “You’re taxing the roof, not the income underneath it,” he said.
Councilmember Trish White-Boyd pressed Shaw on whether the fee structure could be adjusted for low-income households. Shaw said the city operates an assistance program that caps fees for qualifying residents, but acknowledged enrollment has been “flat” — fewer than 400 households currently participate.
The second reading, which will include the final vote, is scheduled for May 12. If approved, the new rate takes effect July 1.
Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick said he expected the increase to pass on second reading, though he signaled he would push for expanded enrollment in the assistance program. “I want every senior and every qualifying household on the low-income roster before that bill shows up in July,” he said.
The city last raised stormwater fees in 2021, when Council approved a 9% adjustment tied to the consumer price index. This would be the largest single increase since the utility was established in 2014.
