In October of 2010 the Town Council gathered for a study session to hear a staff presentation related to the Town of Fountain Hills stormwater collection system. Due to the desert environment the drainage system was somewhat underused and easily clogged with debris, creating potential flooding when it did rain.

At that time the Town was spending $360,000 each year addressing state and federal mandates related to stormwater quality and public health and safety concerns. The funds were spent on street sweeping, wash maintenance, public education and permit fees. It was not the first time the council had considered the challenge of meeting these costs.

It was also the tail end of the Great Recession and a slow recovery meant it was more difficult to divvy up the available funds coming into Town coffers. There were reductions in state shared revenues that provided money for some of the tasks, and with slowing growth Fountain Hills was receiving a smaller share of those dollars.

At that time staff brought to the council’s attention that several Arizona communities including Mesa, Phoenix, Oro Valley and Flagstaff were in the process of implementing storm water fees to residents to cover such costs. At the time of the discussion, it was noted that a fee of $1.25 per month would offset approximately half the annual costs to the Town of Fountain Hills.

The council at the time was lukewarm to the idea but wanted to hear more about such a program. Residents of Fountain Hills have consistently balked at new fees or taxes and the council was keenly aware the public might not welcome such a proposal.

It was 2014 when the subject of the stormwater fee came back to the council for discussion. According to records, this was the second wettest year in Fountain Hills since 2000 with 14.25 inches (a distinction it maintains to this this day).

The council considered and eventually agreed on a split 4-3 vote to implement a fee of $3 per month per parcel to generate $468,000 annually for environmental programs, which would fund about 95% of the needs. It was to be billed once a year.

The proposal was straightforward enough, but implementation was fraught with complications from the beginning. The Town itself had no system for billing citizens for anything. It does not provide services such as water, sanitation or trash collection where most municipalities would attach such a fee.

Defining the parcels to be billed was also a problem. Systems that dated back prior to incorporation were vague and inconsistent with land divisions defined after the Town incorporated. The result was people receiving multiple bills because of the difference in how parcels were identified.

The discussions the Town had with the Sanitary District, EPCOR Water and Republic Services resulted in no agreement in developing a billing system that could piggyback on any of those bills.

Finally, the Town contracted the services of a Florida firm (the only company to respond to a request for proposals) to bill residents. The Town had no provision to follow up with non-payment other than to continue sending a bill until the property owner paid. The Town did have an acceptable payment rate in the year or two the fee was implemented.

State law prohibited the Town from billing based on parcel size or impervious surfaces that generate runoff. As a result, all parcels paid the same amount from single family homes, apartment and condo complexes and even commercial sites with large parking lots were required to pay only the $3 per month.

There were some questions raised about whether the fee was legal at all. Rather than continue to collect and face having to refund a huge amount of money, the Town stopped collecting the fee. While it remains on the books the Town has not heard a legal opinion from the state on whether the fee can be collected.

In the meantime, the costs of stormwater maintenance seemingly continue to escalate each year with inflation and aging infrastructure as well as many new challenges to face in the future.