At the Augusta Commission meeting on Aug. 16, District 10 Commission John Clarke pushed for a full audit of the Stormwater Fee Program. Clarke did not get his audit, but the Engineering Department will have to provide a full accounting of the program.
The commission tasked the Engineering Department with giving a presentation to the Engineering Committee on Sept. 6 to include a full accounting of how much money has been taken in over the past year and how that money has been spent.
Numerous citizens have made complaints before the commission about clogged storm drains, overgrown grass and flooded roadways during heavy rains.
Residents on Ellis Street have reported to the commission that runoff from Calhoun Expressway floods their yards and erodes their homes’ foundations.
Clarke told the commission there needs to be accountability on the stormwater management throughout Augusta-Richmond County.
“People from all over the county continue to complain, and I’ve complained myself, and any time we ask about projects we’re always told the city doesn’t have enough money or enough people,” Clarke said.
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According to Clarke, he has seen temporary road signs proclaiming “your stormwater fees at work” and not a city worker in sight and no evidence of any work being done.
“The other day I saw the stormwater people cutting the ditches, and they were also cutting a private front yard. We had a lady come in last week and complain about the runoff from Calhoun Expressway causing damage her insurance won’t cover,” Clarke said.
When asked about who is watching over the books pertaining to the stormwater fee, Finance Director Donna Williams told the commission that the fee is part of the city’s yearly audit.
However, Clarke has always maintained that the yearly audit is more of an overall summary of the city’s finances and is really an audit in name only.
The stormwater fee began being collected in 2016 to give the city more revenue to purchase equipment and pay employees to cut the grass around runoff ditches, clean storm drains and develop infrastructure projects to ease flooding.
According to the city’s website, the average homeowner pays between $6.40 to $12.80 a month depending on the size of the house and how much of the area is paved. However, businesses can end up paying multiple thousands of dollars especially those businesses that have large parking areas.
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When enacted, the stormwater payment was called a “fee” as opposed to a “tax” which means that nonprofit organizations and churches are charged as well. Even people in the rural areas that are nowhere near city maintained drainage must pay the fee.
The city estimates the fee brings in roughly $10 million annually, however, since the money goes directly into the Engineering Department as opposed to the general fund, the true amount of revenue is unclear.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
