Why Mecklenburg fees for stormwater, development and parks could rise starting July 1
Stormwater, development, solid waste and other Mecklenburg County fees could increase starting in July if a proposal introduced Tuesday makes it into the 2024-2025 budget.
County commissioners heard from multiple departments this week about proposed fee increases for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1. They’ll learn whether County Manager Dena Diorio recommends including them in the fiscal year 2025 budget when she presents her proposal May 16. The current budget ends June 30.
Residential property owners would see monthly county stormwater service fees, which currently range from $1.12 to $4.84, increase by a range of 9 to 39 cents per month under staff proposals. The proposal also includes a $2.39 increase in the monthly rate for commercial properties.
That increase is in line with a multi-year strategy to help fund flood mitigation and stream restoration efforts, county staff said.
Stormwater staff members said they also want to increase the county’s land development services fees, which are paid by developers to cover the cost of county reviews and inspections. Multiple commissioners questioned whether developers should shoulder more of the costs of flood mitigation given their environmental impacts.
“I’m not calling for no more development. I’m not saying that, I don’t mean that, I’m not insinuating that. But what I will own up to is trying to make sure that our residents are protected and we’re not necessarily passing on fees to them that they have no control over,” Commissioner Mark Jerrell said.
Solid waste, parks fees
The solid waste department also wants to raise its “residential availability fee” — which pays for infrastructure, recycling processing and ongoing capital projects — by $5 in line with a previously approved plan. All residential properties in the county pay that fee.
Residential waste disposal fees and the cost for residents to use county dumps and landfills would stay flat, according to the presentation.
Another proposal: a 20% increase for multiple Park and Recreation services starting July 1 and a 20% increase the following fiscal year.
The hourly rental fee for county residents for grass athletic fields would go from $17 to $21 and from $42 to $50 for synthetic turf fields in the first year. Non-residents would continue to pay a higher rate. The field preparation fees for baseball and softball diamonds and multi-purpose fields would be included in the 20% increase, too.
The rate increases also would affect American Legion Memorial Stadium. The weekend rental rate would go up from $6,200 to $7,400 for events hosted by for-profit groups and from $5,270 to $6,300 for nonprofits.
Parks staff members noted they haven’t increased the rates in years. The increases would put Mecklenburg’s rates more in line with other parks departments in the region, but still be lower than many other rates around the state, staff members said.
“Our recent research shows that park and recreation rental rates are below the regional rates by a range of 20% to well over 100% below similar types of facilities,” deputy director Peter Cook said.
The parks plan would bring in an additional $325,000 in the first 18 months of the first proposed increase, according to the presentation.
Some commissioners questioned why it’s been so long since the rates were evaluated. Parks staff said the COVID-19 pandemic created delays and that the park system’s offerings have changed as more synthetic fields were introduced and Memorial Stadium underwent renovations.
Now, parks staff members say they want to evaluate fees every three to four years.
Other proposed fee increases
Public Health Director Raynard Washington proposed increases in fees for groundwater well inspections and public pool plan reviews. Under the proposal, residents and business owners would be charged $150 for well monitoring for the first well on their property, then an additional $25 for each additional well.
The health department also wants to raise the price of public pool plan reviews from $350 to $500. The cost of any necessary re-review would increase from $250 to $350. Washington told commissioners the increase is needed because plans being submitted, especially by apartment complexes, are increasingly complex.
“Nobody’s building just regular pools anymore … These would better reflect the amount of effort that our team is having to spend on these reviews,” he said.
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