Baton Rouge residents criticize new stormwater utility fee proposal at community meeting

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A new plan to impose a stormwater utility fee in East Baton Rouge Parish was met with heated opposition from residents Thursday, Oct. 13.

“People do not appreciate how they were treated in there tonight,” said Joy Womack, a concerned resident.

City-parish officials held the first of several public meetings to discuss and explain the proposed fee.

The stormwater utility fee proposal by the mayor’s office is for all property owners, including businesses and industry as well. The goal is to help fund long-term drainage and water quality maintenance strategies. Officials say this will also help the city-parish avoid federal enforcement action.

The monthly rate is expected to be $1.36 cents per billing unit. It will be calculated by the square footage of impervious surfaces, and the first fee will be on your 2023 tax bill.

“The revenue has to be enough to do the work, and it has to be resilient. What do I mean by that? It means it has to be dedicated to the work so it can’t be pulled and used for some other purpose, and we’re left stranded again with not enough money to do what needs to be done in our parish,” Kelvin Hill, EBR Assistant Chief Administrative Officer said.

Part of the meeting was spent explaining the new fee, the use, and how much residents can expect to pay.

The rest of the time was spent answering questions from people who said they left the meeting with more questions than answers.

“We’re taxed and feed more and more, to receive less and less,” said Pennie May Landry, a concerned resident.

Dozens of residents criticized the plan, as many called it a ‘tax’ rather than a fee.

“If they would say, this fee is flat, it’s set for 50 years, people may be a little more open to it, but they’re unable to answer those questions,” said Landry.

The Metro Council will vote on the measure at a meeting on Oct. 26, but some felt any vote should fall in the hands of taxpayers.

“The voters should be the ones, given we’re going to be ones paying the fee, that we should be able to vote on this,” said Landry.

The next meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 17 at the Pride-Chaneyville Branch Library at 6:30 p.m. For a full list of dates and times of the other meetings, click here.

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