Faced with century-old pipes, wetter hurricanes and a rapidly growing population, Orlando leaders say they need more money to fund maintenance and upgrades to systems that remove rainwater from neighborhood streets.

On the hook for that are property owners in the city, who likely will pay stormwater fees that are more than double the current rate in coming years to cover the need. That alone would have aggravated some residents, but an April letter to affected homeowners had some believing the increases were even larger than the city is actually proposing, fanning the flames.

A second letter, outlining each property owner’s proposed fees, was issued recently to clarify matters.

“The last time we changed the rate was in 2008,” said Corey Knight, the city’s Public Works Director. “We want to keep a quality of life around here that our residents expect, and to do that today it costs more than it did in 2008.”

Knight will ask the city council to approve the proposed increase at a public hearing Monday, as part of the council’s regularly scheduled meeting.Turn to Fee, Page 6

With the hike, the same typical home would pay an average of $3.50 more per month each year topping out at $21.24 per month in 2028. The city rakes in about $25 million annually in stormwater fees, but next year’s projected budget to maintain the system is more than $50 million.

Knight said the department has had to borrow money to keep things going, which isn’t sustainable long term.

Maintaining storm drains and replacing underground storm pipes is expensive work, and costs have ballooned, he said.

“It’s replacing old infrastructure…it’s also the upkeep and maintenance of the infrastructure to try to get more life out of it,” he said.

While the city has offered some examples of typical fees, for each home the actual fee is calculated based on a property’s “impervious area” — the rooftops, driveways and other surfaces that don’t absorb rainwater. In one example, a home with about 2,600 square feet of impervious area pays about $137 annually now and would pay about $202 next year, $252 in 2026, $303 in 2027 and $318 in 2028, according to the notice.

The proposed increase would bring stormwater collections up to $54.5 million in 2028, according to projections in the letter.

Clay Rivers was among taxpayers who attended a city council meeting last month to oppose the increase. Rivers, president of the Washington Shores neighborhood association, said his neighborhood hasn’t seen the benefits of the existing fee, and feared the steep increase would hit his neighbors on fixed incomes, forcing them to move.

“Washington Shores routinely suffers street flooding, overflow, or standing water due to insufficient or inadequately maintained infrastructure,” he said. “To raise our rates now, while the current fees don’t sufficiently address the community’s needs, is unjust.”

Others chimed in with email to an inbox included in the notice of the public hearing. Emailed responses were obtained by the Sentinel through a public records request.

Rita Meyer, an east Orlando resident, called on city leaders to cut expenses elsewhere in order to fund its needed improvements.

“I completely understand wanting to complete multiple stormwater projects, but if there’s no money in the budget, you put the projects on hold or trim your expenditures, personnel, travel or overhead,” she wrote. “It boggles the mind that City of Orlando politicians would propose these increases when the citizens of Orlando and the state are already dealing with astronomical property insurance rates and/or property insurance cancellations.”

David Dean, who lives in the downtown area, wrote that he understood a fee increase may be necessary, but “a 100% increase is alarming and places a heavy burden on individuals like myself who rely on your services.”

rygillespie@orlandosentinel .com