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92-012 - 03-02 Establish Storm Water Utility FundResolution 92-12 March 2, 1992 Member Stockman introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A STORM WATER UTILITY FUND AND THE MEANS OF FIXING CHARGES FOR STORM SEWER SERVICES WHEREAS, Minnesota statutes, Chapter 444 authorizes cities to impose just and reasonable charges for the use and availability of storm water facilities ("charges"); and, WHEREAS, the Golden Valley City Code, Sec. 3.02 provides for all rates and charges for municipal utilities, including storm sewerage service, to be fixed, determined and amended by resolution of the City Council; and, WHEREAS, the same section of the Code indicates that categorization and classification systems used to fix rates and charges for various types of ser- vice shall also be adopted by resolution; and, WHEREAS, in the exercise of its governmental authority and in order to promote the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare, the City has constructed, operated and maintained a storm sewer system ("the system"); and, WHEREAS, the system, as constructed, heretofore has been financed and paid for through the imposition of special assessments and ad valorem taxes and it is now necessary and desirable to provide an alternative method of recovering some or all of the costs of improving, maintaining and operating the system through the imposition of charges as provided herein; and, WHEREAS, in imposing charges, it is necessary to establish a methodology that undertakes to make them just and equitable, taking into account the status of completion of the system, past methods of recovering system costs, the topography of the City and other relevant factors; and, WHEREAS, it is determined that it would be just and equitable to assign responsibility for some or all of the costs of operating, maintaining and improving the system on the basis of the expected storm water runoff from the various parcels of land within the City during a standard one-year rainfall event; and, WHEREAS, assigning costs and making charges based upon expected typical storm water runoff cannot be done with mathematical precision but can only be accomplished within reasonable and practical limits which shall be established herein. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Golden Valley that a Storm Water Utility Fund is hereby established along with the following policies and procedures for establishing charges for storm sewer users to be deposited in said fund: Resolution 92-12 - Continued March 2, 1992 1. Definitions A. Residential equivalent factor. Rates and charges for the use and availability of the system shall be determined through the use of a "Residential Equivalent Factor" ("REF"). For the purposes of this section, one REF is defined as the ratio of the average volume of surface water runoff coming from one acre of land subjected to a particular use, to the average volume of runoff coming from one acre of land subjected to typical single-family residential use within the City during a standard one-year rainfall event. B. Standard Residential Unit. A standard residential unit shall be one-third acre of land used for single-family and two-family residential pur- poses. For the purpose of simplifying the classification of property each pro- perty used for single-family and two-family residential purposes shall be deemed one standard residential unit. C. Basic Rate. The charge to one acre of land having an REF of one shall be the basic rate. 2. Classification A. The REFS for City land uses shall be as follows: CLASSIFICATION RESIDENTIAL EQUIVALENT LAND USES FACTOR 1 Parks/Golf Courses 0.50 2 Railroads 0.75 3 Single Family/ 1.00 Duplex Residential 4 Schools/Library 1.50 Churches 5 Multiple Family 2.50 6 Commercial/Industrial 5.00 B. Other land uses. Other land uses not listed in the foregoing table shall be classified by the City Engineer by assigning them to the classes most nearly like the listed uses, from the standpoint of probable hydrologic response. C. Excluded Lands. No charge for system availability or service shall be made against land which is public street right-of-way. No charge shall be made to Theodore Wirth Park, which is not in the storm drainage system. D. Classification Appeals. Persons aggrieved by determination of the City Engineer can appeal to the City Manager. Administrative appeals of the determination of the City Manager are possible under Section 2.14 of the City Code. Resolution 92-12 - Continued March 2, 1992 3. Charges and Billing Procedure A. Establishing Basic Rate. The Council shall from time to time establish by resolution a basic rate. The charge to be made against each parcel of land shall then be determined by multiplying the REF per acre for the par- cel's land use classification times the parcel's acreage times the basic system rate. B. Billing. The storm water utility charges calculated, as detailed above, will be billed on the quarterly utility bill for the applicable property. C. Penalty for Late Payment. Each quarterly billing for storm water utility charges fees not paid when due shall incur a penalty charge of ten per- cent (10%) of the amount past due, per billing period. D. Certification of Past Due Fees on Taxes. Any past due storm water utility charges may be certified to the County Auditor for collection with real estate taxes in the following year pursuant to Minn. Statutes Section 444.075, Subdivision 3. E. Adjustments of Charges. The City Council may by resolution, adopt policies providing for the adjustment of charges for parcels or groups of par- cels, based upon hydrologic data demonstrating an actual hydrologic response substantially different from the REF being used for the parcel or parcels. Such adjustment shall be made only after receiving the recommendation of the City Engineer and shall not be effective retroactively. If the adjustment would have the effect of changing the REF for all or substantially all of the land uses in a particular classification, however, such adjustment shall be accomplished by amending the REF table included herein. ATTEST: Shirley J4Won, City Clerk The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was seconded by Member Johnson and upon a vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: Bakken, Johnson, Russell, and Stockman; the following was absent: Thompson;and the following voted against the same: none; whereupon said resolu- tion was declared duly passed and adopted, signed by the Mayor and his signature attested by the City Clerk.