www.efc.unc.edu

Stormwater Finance: Trends and Emerging Issues

NC APWA Stormwater DivisionOctober 22, 2018Winston Salem, NC

Jeff HughesEvan Kirk

Environmental Finance CenterSchool of Government

University of North Carolina (919) 843-4956

jhughes@sog.unc.eduwww.efc.unc.edu

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How you pay for it matters

Supporting the fair, effective, and financially sustainable delivery of environmental programs through:• Applied Research

– Fees and finance– Regulatory approaches– Nutrient Rules Study

• Teaching and Outreach– Stormwater Listserv– Stormwater finance

• Program Design and Evaluation– Dashboard– Implementation advising– Capital planning tools

Topics

• Revenue Sources– Stormwater utilities– Fees and revenues

• Resources– Dashboards– Stormwater Finance Education Opportunities

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Using Poll Everywhere1. Pull out your phone2. Either:

a. Go to http://pollev.com/uncefc (preferred)or

b. Send a text message:i. Type in 22333 as the text numberii. Type in uncefc as the message, then send.iii. You should receive a message that says “You’ve

joined Jeff Hughes’ session……”

3. You can now respond poll questions!

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Map of NC Stormwater Utilities

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NC Stormwater Fees (January 2018)• 9 out of 10 largest cities have utilities

– 36 of 50 largest cities

• 66 out of 97 MS4 Permit holders – All 6 Phase I municipalities– 60 of 91 Phase II municipalities– 24 utilities with no MS4 permit

• 9 Of 27 Jordan Lake Rule municipalities

• Total revenue reported for 64 municipal utilities in 2017 was $208,009,005– Total revenue reported for 56 municipal utilities in 2010 was

$138,949,938• Total revenue reported by 3 county utilities in 2017 was $17,269,729

Source: Analysis prepared by the EFC using self reported information submitted to the Local Government Commission

Stormwater fee revenue vs. other revenue sources for 64 municipalities reporting utility fees in 2017

Source: Analysis prepared by the EFC using self reported information submitted to the Local Government Commission

$1,959,977,347

$1,554,901,370

$208,009,005 $161,185,266

Total Property Tax TotalWater/Wastewater

Fees

Total StormwaterFees

Total Solid WasteFees

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$0.0

0$2

.00

$4.0

0$6

.00

$8.0

0$1

0.00

$12.

00$1

4.00

$16.

00

Monthly Residential Stormwater Fees in North Carolina at 3,000 sq. ft. of impervious surface

Data compiled by UNC EFC January 2018. Compare with caution: Fee comparisons should consider level of service and regulatory mandate.

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Num

ber o

f Util

ities

Representative Charge for Single Family Residential (January 2018)

(per 3,000 sq. ft.)

Do It Yourself Analysishttps://efc.sog.unc.edu/resource/2018-north-carolina-stormwater-

rates-dashboard

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2019 Survey Thus Far

• 53 Stormwater fees collected – 4 utilities for which we did not have rates last year– 9 utilities (18 percent) raised rates

• 3.72 million people served of 10.16 million population (2016 ACS)

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Continue the Discussion

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