Title
Land Use and Environmental Services Agency Fee Ordinance Changes
Action
ACTION:
Adopt a Resolution Revising the Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA) Fee Ordinance
Staff Contact: Don Ceccarelli, LUESA-Storm Water Services
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
By Interlocal Agreements, LUESA - Storm Water Services division provides Land Development services on behalf of the towns. The services may vary from Town to Town. Generally, the services are comprised of performing plan review, permitting and inspection services for land development activities, such as, erosion control, storm water, transportation, zoning, etc. The Land Development Services Interlocal Cooperation Agreements state that the County may charge fees to offset the costs incurred in providing the services on behalf of the Towns. On July 1, 2019, the Town of Huntersville started providing most of these services themselves.
In FY19, Storm Water Services developed a time/expense tracking system, 100% cost recovery hourly rate model and Land Development fee model to better align the revenue generated from fees with the services provided. The output from the system and FY25 models indicated that the fees being charged do not cover the expenses incurred by Storm Water Services.
The Towns and LUESA - Storm Water Services recommend revisions to the LUESA Fee Ordinance to achieve the following goals:
• County recover 100% of its costs and minimize subsidies, and
• Set fees to attain Land Development Reserves to fund pre-paid services
The proposed FY25 budget is based on the proposed fees as contained in the attached LUESA Fee Ordinance.
Public Hearings: The Board of County Commissioners held a Public Hearing on May 23, 2024, in accordance with the Storm Water Management Interlocal Agreement and State law for considering such increases. The public hearing provided interested parties an opportunity to comment to the Board of County Commissioners on the proposed changes.
An informal Budget Committee consisting of the five Town Managers and the Storm Water Services Division Director exists. They have endorsed the above goals and proposed fee increases. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Advisory Committee also supported the above goals and the proposed increases associated with Floodplain Development Permit Fees.
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
N/A
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A