Richmond's new stormwater fee is a washout for now.

Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced yesterday he's no longer recommending the fee because residents may also face higher bills for electricity.

The stormwater fee would have come on top of water and sewer rates and provided a new source of revenue to fix the city's old stormwater system.

City Council members laughed when Wilder's announcement came in a news release during a morning budget work session. They had deleted $10 million in stormwater projects from their plan following a preliminary decision late Monday to not approve the fee this year.

"I'm glad the city administration follows council's deliberations closely," City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler said.

Under the fee structure that had been proposed, property owners would have paid an annual amount based on the square footage of surfaces, such as roofs and parking lots, that cause water to run off. Officials said most homeowners would pay $90 per year, while the owners of businesses, churches, apartments and other buildings would pay substantially more.

Alexander Alexander, president of Colony Management Corp., attended a presentation on the stormwater-fee proposal yesterday and expressed concern that the program could drive up housing costs.

"It's very, very difficult in the city of Richmond to provide affordable apartments, and part of the reason is all these ancillary fees . . . they keep piling on," he said during a Greater Richmond Chamber breakfast.

Wilder said he supports the city continuing to make stormwater improvements using general-fund tax dollars until the utility program can be put into effect.

"The drainage needs of the city are well known, and we have made considerable progress in the last three years," the mayor said in a statement. "We consider it prudent to postpone this program as citizens who have already felt the impact of gas price increases are now likely to see increases in monthly electricity bills this summer."

Wilder was unavailable for comment yesterday, spokesman Linwood Norman said.

Dominion Virginia Power filed a request with the State Corporation Commission this week to increase the electric bills of residential customers by 18.3 percent beginning July 1. The increase would mean monthly bills will rise by $16.61 for a typical customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours. It would cover anticipated fuel costs at Dominion's power plants.

The council is considering including $2 million in next year's operating budget with potentially more in the capital budget for stormwater improvements.

Wilder's statement said he still recommends increasing water rates by a smaller amount next year than was planned a year ago. The proposed change would result in a 4.7 percent rather than a 6 percent increase for typical residential customers next year, but that's part of a five-year plan to that would eventually reduce residential rates, officials said.

City Council is receptive to the change if utilities officials say it's prudent, City Council President William J. Pantele said.

"We are looking for opportunities to reduce the utilities burden on citizens as we have been looking for ways to reduce the real-estate tax burden on citizens," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Jeremy Slayton contributed to this report.