Spencer Board to review ordinance creating stormwater utility, set date for public hearing

Published 12:05 am Monday, December 8, 2014

The Spencer Board of Aldermen will review an ordinance that establishes a stormwater-management utility for the town during Tuesday’s meeting.

The utility would be funded by fees, yet to be established, paid by households and businesses. Fees are based on the amount of “impervious surface area” — roofs, sidewalks, walkways, patios, driveway, parking lots, etc. — a land parcel has.

According to the ordinance, individual single-family parcels with one home would be billed at a flat rate.

The utility is meant to protect water quality by controlling the level of pollutants in stormwater runoff, which must meet federal standards.

The board also will set a date to hold the first public hearing regarding the ordinance, likely at the regular board meeting in January, according to the agenda for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. meeting. A second public hearing is tentatively planned for March.

The city of Salisbury established a stormwater utility in 2012. Households in the city pay a flat rate of $4.25 per month.

Businesses in Salisbury pay a fee, ranging from $10 a month to $300 a month, based on the amount of impervious surface area they have.

Spencer’s ordinance states land parcels with fewer than 500 square feet of impervious surface area will not have to pay a fee.

If eventually approved, the utility would be part of the town’s fiscal year 2015-2016 budget.

In other business Tuesday, the board will:

• Receive an overview of the town’s finances for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

• Vote on a memorandum to have the town’s library, which now has Wi-Fi,  join the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s Community Wi-Fi Partners initiative.

• Go into closed session to discuss the town manager’s compensation.