Boerne staff propose doubling stormwater ERU fee to $8 to fund drainage projects

City staff told the Boerne City Council on July 28 that the stormwater utility needs additional revenue to fund a multi-year drainage capital-improvement plan identified in the 2022 drainage master plan. Director Carroll (speaker 5) said the master plan includes 16 projects totaling $60,500,000 (in 2022 dollars) and that the city has capacity and regulatory drivers to move on two high-priority plant expansions.

Staff recommended increasing the equivalent residential unit (ERU) monthly fee from $4 to $8. Sarah (speaker 7) said that, under the proposed $8 ERU, the city would be roughly in the middle of regional peers and that the increase would enable a debt issuance to fund projects such as the Manger/Minger Creek work. "The $8 ERU would support a debt issuance that would then fund that Manger Creek Bridge project," Sarah said.

Several councilmembers raised data and equity concerns. One councilmember questioned reliance on the 2018 aerial-data baseline and noted that the ERU tiers were set using older imagery. As one councilmember put it, "we're taking a line item at the bottom of a utility bill and doubling it from 4 to $8, you know, on data that's 8 years old," and asked staff to confirm whether recalculation of ERUs should precede a rate change. Staff replied that a 10-year parcel refresh is planned and that ordinance readings are scheduled for August 11 (first reading) and September 8 (final reading), with any rate changes to take effect January 1 for consumption.