After hearing strong criticism of a sharp increase in a stormwater collection fee put in place in July, the Sioux City Council backtracked and lowered the fee over the next four years.
Mayor Bob Scott said the council was being responsive, to make the fee go up more gradually over those years.
The stormwater collection fee was moved to a 300 percent increase in July, to an amount that resulted in an average user rate of $9.08 per month, or nearly $109 for the year.
With the new action approved by the council, the average monthly rate will drop to $4.54 in November.
The average monthly user rate will increase by roughly 20 percent in the years from 2027 though 2030.
That average monthly stormwater fee amount will go to just under $5 and a half dollars on July 2027, about $6 and a half dollars in July 2028 and approaching $9 in 2030.
City staff sent out an explainer on Tuesday so people could see amounts of the lessened increases through July 2030.
“This modification will affect monthly or quarterly bills, depending on how storm drain fees are billed to the user,” the release said, adding that the money is being directed to “critical infrastructure improvements outlined in the City’s Stormwater Master Plan and Capital Improvement Program, including the Bacon Creek Culvert Project.”
