HomeMy WebLinkAbout0012_1_CSA 152 - SRREPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From:Grant Yates, City Manager
Prepared by: Jason Simpson, Assistant City Manager
Date:February 14, 2017
Subject: County Service Area 152, setting the Benefit Assessment Unit Rate for Fiscal
Year 2017-18 for the City of Lake Elsinore to Fund the City’s National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Compliance
Activities
Recommendation
adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE,
CALIFORNIA, MAINTAINING COUNTY SERVICE AREA 152 AND AUTHORIZING THE
BENEFIT ASSESSMENT UNIT RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017-18 FOR THE CITY OF LAKE
ELSINORE TO FUND THE CITY’S NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION
SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT PROGRAM
Background
The NPDES program originates from the Federal Clean Water Acts and the 1969 State of
California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. The State Water Resources Control Board
establishes the regulations that govern activities to improve water quality statewide. The
governance takes the form of Permits for storm water discharge; the Permits mandate activities,
which if not performed place the Permittee at risk for substantial penalties. The City together with
other local agencies is covered by the Permit referred to as the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit.
To fund the costs of the mandated activities, the County of Riverside established County Service
Area ("CSA") 152. In 1994, the County of Riverside annexed the City of Lake Elsinore into CSA
152. Enabling the City to impose a charge on individual parcels within City limits that contain a
structure. Each parcel is assigned a certain number of "benefit assessment units" or "BAU." For
instance, a single family home is assigned one BAU, commercial property is assigned 12 BAUs
per acre.
At the time of annexation, the City established the rate at $13.88 per BAU. Subsequently, the rate
has fluctuated from a low of $6.24 per BAU to the current rate of $13.88 per BAU. The current
charge is $13.88 per BAU.
County Service Area 152
February 14, 2017
Page 2
Discussion
With neither the State nor Federal governments providing funding for the activities mandated by
the NPDES Permit, the requirements appear to constitute an unfunded mandate and as such
would merit State funding, however, due to language in the Permit, the City is required to seek
and secure funding:
II.B.10. This Order does not constitute an unfunded mandate subject to subvention under
Article XIII.B, Section (6) of the California Constitution for several reasons including the
following:
c. The Permittees have the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
to pay for compliance with this Order.
To ensure compliance with the NPDES MS4 Permit, the City must perform the required activities.
The Fiscal Year 2017-18 NPDES program budget is estimate at $457,300. These funds are used
to cover staff administrative costs and mandated activities that include implementation and
maintenance of electronic database, GIS mapping, maintenance of storm drains, catch basins,
maintenance equipment, inter-agency program cost shares, in lake water quality monitoring,
public education, and inspection of residential, commercial, industrial and construction sites in the
City.
Current CSA revenues are insufficient to cover the increasing cost of required activities. Activities
which grow in scope every year. For the current Fiscal Year, 16,520 properties in the City of Lake
Elsinore are listed for CSA 152 assessment and would generate $364,000 at the existing rate.
The projected operating deficit of $68,475 will be covered using a balance of unused CSA 152
monies (approximately $300,000) from prior years. If not for the unused fund balance, the General
Fund would bear the entire program budget deficit of $93,300.
Fiscal Impact
No negative fiscal impact.
Exhibit
A Resolution