The Lubbock City Council has approved a resolution at their meeting this week, requesting that stormwater drainage fees be reviewed.

As it currently stands, City of Lubbock residents pay $12 for their stormwater drainage fees, and all businesses, churches, and apartment complexes pay $79.65 monthly. All State, City of Lubbock, and all State-owned school district properties are exempt from these fees.

District 3 Lubbock City Councilman Todd Klein says “there is a desire to see a more equitable and fair approach to how we do stormwater, and I think we can begin that process with a study by staff.”

The resolution requests that City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld, along with the Model Codes and Construction Advisory Board study the current storm water drainage charges, and report their findings to the council. The boards would consider the possibility of a drainage charges basis that reflects a property’s actual share of the total stormwater runoff, compared to the City’s current system, which is based off of the number of meters serving the property.

“It allows us to move away from a ‘one price fits all’ approach, where a small shop owner may be paying the same amount as a big-box store.”

The resolution to get the study itself done passed 6-0, District 2 Councilman Floyd Price absent, but District 4 Councilman Paul Beane is wary of recommendations which might be presented to the council.

“This could have some positive effects on small business owners, but at the same time, depending upon the recommendations that come back from model codes, it could have a devastating effect on larger businesses, because we could have a recommendation come before us to keep the rates the same for homeowners, and increase the rates for the very large property owners here in the city,” Beane said of the fee reviews.

“If it comes back that we end up showing a gross increase in the number of stormwater fees, I am not going to support it.”

More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO