City schedules stormwater fee hike public hearing — after it has been approved

The city of Eugene’s public works staff will hold a public hearing next month on the city’s plan to increase stormwater fees — even though councilors already approved the hike as part of the city’s new budget.

Residents can weigh in during a Zoom meeting at noon on Monday, July 7, on the planned 18% uptick to the monthly fee, which would raise $4.7 million annually through 2031. City councilors approved the increase in May to help close the $11.5 million gap in Eugene’s budget, which they approved June 23.

Though originally intended to fund stormwater and wastewater service, the fee’s purpose expanded last June when councilors amended Eugene’s code to allow it to also fund parks and open spaces. 

Earlier this year, they raised the fee to cover $1.1 million in general fund spending on parks. This latest fee increase will free up $4.7 million in general fund money to sustain services like the Sheldon Community Center and Amazon Pool between 2025 and 2027. 

Under the new rates, small homes of 1,000 square feet or less will owe $15.87 monthly, an increase of $2.39 over the current rate. Medium-sized residences — 1,000 and 3,000 square feet — will pay $23.01 monthly, an increase of $3.48.

The hearing’s timing sparks questions, given that the council already approved the fee hike and built the budget around it. 

“There is widespread support for this,” said Public Works Public Affairs Manager Marion Suitor Barnes. “There really wasn’t a concern that in the hearing there would be such monumental opposition that it would lead to a change in the direction that the council took.”

Barnes said the city is required to hold a public hearing for comment any time it proposes an administrative order like the fee increase. 

The change was originally set to take effect in September, but it was accelerated to August to align more closely with the city’s recent budget reconciliation, she said.

“We’ve really rushed it through to get it in front of the community much faster than originally intended, which I think is a good thing,” Barnes said.

In February, councilors approved a fire services fee projected to raise $10 million a year. A petition campaign backed by the Eugene Chamber of Commerce sent that fee to the ballot, prompting councilors to pursue the stormwater option instead. 

Barnes said that if the city had received signs of sweeping resistance to the fee increase, officials would have provided another forum for public comment. But so far residents have shown broad support, she said, adding that the city welcomes anyone to share their thoughts at the meeting next week. 

At the June 23 council meeting, several residents spoke in favor of the fee hike, acknowledging that it helps preserve city services threatened by cuts. 

Others expressed skepticism, describing the fee increase as a de facto tax with a six-year expiration date — and one too modest to solve Eugene’s chronic budget issues. 

Those concerns echoed the objections of Councilors Eliza Kashinsky and Alan Zelenka, the council’s only ‘no’ votes on the proposal in May.