Kerrville Council leans toward tiered stormwater fee, but delays decision pending more study

The Kerrville City Council signaled Tuesday it favors a tiered, square-footage-based stormwater utility fee over a flat rate — but members stopped short of a final decision, asking staff to bring the item back to a future workshop.

The proposed fee is designed to generate roughly $267,000 in its first year for system maintenance while chipping away at a $15 million backlog of drainage capital projects identified in the city’s 2020 Stormwater Master Plan.

The structure hinges on an Equivalent Residential Unit of 4,876 square feet — the average impervious cover, or hard surface where rain cannot penetrate, for a Kerrville residential property. Under the tiered option, single-family homes under 2,350 square feet would pay $1.50 per month, mid-size homes would pay $2, and larger homes exceeding 4,878 square feet would pay $2.50. Commercial and multi-unit properties would be assessed based on actual square footage.

Council members agreed the tiered approach is more equitable than a flat rate, which would place a disproportionate burden on small-home owners compared to large commercial properties. Implementing the tiered system will require importing and integrating square footage data from the appraisal district.

Mayor Joe Herring said the council is not there yet. He said he sees no consensus and called for public input before any fee is adopted, adding that he wants to revisit the original 2020 master plan.

“It’s not a huge dollar amount,” Herring said of the fee’s effect on individual homeowners, “but it’s still significant.”

The city is targeting an Oct. 1 implementation date, pending council approval of a fee structure, an amendment to the fee schedule, and reconfiguration of the city’s billing system.