Public hearing, possible vote on proposed stormwater utility on City Council Dec. 13 agenda

posted on 12/8/2023; updated 12/11/2023

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the City Council will hold a public hearing followed by a possible vote on a proposed ordinance to create a stormwater and flood resilience utility.

Currently, funding for stormwater infrastructure is through the city’s general fund. Under the current funding approach, 55% of the property tax revenue used to fund the city’s stormwater costs comes from residential property owners though these properties account for only 25% of the city’s impervious cover area. If enacted, the proposed stormwater and flood resilience utility fee would be based on the amount of impervious cover area per parcel, to more accurately reflect each parcel's impact or contribution to the municipal stormwater system maintenance, water quality protection and flood resilience needs. The stormwater utility would affect all properties within the city, including residential, commercial, government and non-profit-owned properties.

One key aspect of the utility is the fee credit system to encourage and financially incentivize property owners to implement various stormwater management practices on their property via various credit options which reduces the property owner's utility fee and reduces the stormwater management burden that Dover may have to do city-wide.

The City Council held a workshop on the proposed ordinance, entitled Municipal Stormwater Utility, on Nov. 15, where city staff and consultants reviewed all aspects of the stormwater utility, including the need for the ordinance, how it would work, the utility fee structure, and available credit options. The presentation also included the work and findings of the Council’s ad-hoc stormwater funding committee. The Council held a first reading of the proposed ordinance at its Nov. 8 meeting. As currently proposed, the stormwater utility would begin on July 1, 2024, the beginning of the city’s 2025 fiscal year.

The city's Stormwater Management webpage has a video of the Nov. 15 workshop, presentation slides, the proposed ordinance, and all other stormwater-related documents. Information on this page includes but is not limited to how a stormwater utility would work and its need, a link to frequently asked questions, and prior presentation materials. The stormwater page also includes presentation slides and links to the audio recording of the Dec. 5 presentation on the proposed stormwater utility given to the Dover Industrial and Business Development Authority.

The City Council’s Dec. 13 meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers. It will be televised on Channel 22 and available for on-demand viewing at https://dovernh.viebit.com.

City provides responses to public workshop questions on stormwater utility

At the Oct. 17, 2023 public workshop about the proposed stormwater and flood resilience utility, members of the public submitted questions and comments about the proposal. The city posted the responses this week to the Stormwater Management webpage.

Click here to read the submitted questions and the city's responses.

For more information, contact Community Services at 603-516-6450.