Citing “current legislative uncertainty” around stormwater infrastructure fees, the Laramie City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to eliminate the Surface Water Drainage Fund and abandon the associated stormwater fee.
The ordinance to repeal the program must survive two more readings, scheduled for March 17 and April 7 respectively, to take effect. But Tuesday’s meeting featured no debate between councilors before their unified vote.
“The decision that we’re making to move forward with repeal is not an easy one,” City Manager Todd Feezer said. “But it’s the accurate one, given the political climate and what’s been happening in our community surrounding the surface water drainage utility.”
The ordinance comes one week after the death of Senate File 116a piece of proposed legislation that would have mandated cities and towns host elections before imposing a stormwater tax.
SF116 was sponsored by Sen. Gary Crum (R-Laramie) and was filed in response to two ongoing lawsuits — one each against the city of Laramie and the city of Cheyenne — alleging that cities and towns are already obligated to host such elections. The proposed legislation would have confirmed this interpretation.
If it had passed, SF116 would have “rendered our code and many other municipalities’ codes invalid or unworkable,” Public Works Director Brooks Webb told the Laramie City Council Tuesday.
A Senate committee advanced the bill with a 5-0 vote at a hearing attended by Feezer and other Laramie residents, as well as those involved in the lawsuits against Laramie and Cheyenne.
The bill initially succeeded on third reading in the full Senate, which would have sent it to the House for further consideration. But hours after the successful 17-14 vote, Sen. Stephan Pappas (R-Cheyenne) moved to reconsider the bill, the Senate re-voted, and it ultimately reversed course.
SF116 then died on a 12-19, as Sens. Pappas, Jim Anderson (R-Casper), Barry Crago (R-Buffalo), Stacy Jones (R-Rock Springs) and Jared Olsen (R-Cheyenne) all changed their vote from “aye” to “nay.”
Olsen told the Laramie Reporter that the city of Cheyenne had “agreed” to postpone its own stormwater fee.
“After voting on the bill initially, I had a conversation with the mayor of Cheyenne, my community, and he advised me that Cheyenne agreed to suspend its fees to allow for a discussion on stormwater,” Olsen said via email. “With the fees suspended, the issue became moot for the people I represent. This is why I changed my vote. I look forward to the legislature taking up this issue over the interim to find solutions that benefit everyone.”
The Cheyenne City Council will consider repealing its own stormwater fee on Monday, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
The removal of Cheyenne’s fee could de-clutter the conversation lawmakers plan to have about stormwater between now and the 2027 General Session next year.
During the interim between sessions, legislative committees dig into specific topics and generate proposals for future legislation. The legislature is deciding this year’s interim topics this week.
Feezer told the Reporter that Laramie leaders had been planning to eliminate the fee long before the vote reversal. (Councilor Brandon Newman even highlighted those plans during a short video interview with the Talk Shop following SF116’s committee appearance.)
“Quite frankly, it’s not the right time for our community,” Feezer added. “[City] staff’s got more important resources to focus on right now.”
Stormwater maintenance will now be run through the city’s general fund, which is how it was managed before the establishment of the dedicated Surface Water Drainage Fund.
“We’ll move all activity back to the general fund,” Administrative Services Director Jenn Wade told councilors during their meeting. “You’ll see a new division in the general fund where we put additional allocated funds, as well as break out the funding that we were previously spending … because right now they’re included in the ‘street and storm drainage’ division.”
That new subdivision will make it easier for members of the public to identify how much is being spent on stormwater projects specifically.
“You’re going to see a much more transparent presentation of the spending on surface water drainage,” Wade said.
The elimination of the stormwater fee is likely a welcome development for the residents who have railed against the city of Laramie’s plans for stormwater buildout since the first bills hit residents last summer.
Laramie’s current stormwater infrastructure is suboptimal. Streets and gutters flood frequently throughout the summer and maintenance has been reactive rather than proactive, largely because of a lack of funding.
A 2022 study found Laramie would need to inject about $130 million into its stormwater infrastructure to widen pipes and improve runoff, and to shield city streets, private property and Laramie residents from the damage and danger wrought by all but the most intense storms.
The council planned to raise about half of this by moving some money over from the general fund, pursuing grants and charging fees of all landowners in the city, public or private.
Properties were initially charged at a uniform rate based on the amount of impervious area, such as roofs or driveways. Most property owners, and especially most homeowners, were charged small or even negligible rates, with about half of all homes in the city paying about $10 or less.
But the new fee enraged some large landowners and relative outliers who found themselves facing much higher bills.
The Laramie City Council responded immediately to this citizen movement, pausing the fee and reimbursing anyone who had paid the inaugural monthly charge.
Several months of heated discussion ensued as councilors re-evaluated the fee, scaled back their improvement plans, and ultimately agreed to cap the fees at $200 a parcel — effectively granting the largest landowners in town significant discounts.
The fee also had its supporters. During one meeting, the Laramie Plains Civic Center’s visual arts director spoke of the chronic flooding that has repeatedly endangered the center’s clay studio. Though the civic center was an outlier when it came to the stormwater fee — preparing to pay more than $200 a month — its leaders viewed the charge as supporting a collective solution to a community problem.
But the stormwater fee faced other headwinds. In September, the University of Wyoming — Laramie’s single largest landowner — sued the city. The lawsuit, which sought to halt the fee and overturn the statute Laramie cited to justify it, is ongoing.