Cities across California grapple with the increasing annual costs and efforts to address stormwater. As charging any type of utility fee for this effort is challenging, most cities choose to pay for this with dwindling general funds. Culver City decided to try another approach, a parcel tax.
The increasing demands to properly address stormwater have a hefty price tag, plain and simple. However, most property owners and voters don’t understand the issues and importance of doing so, and thus certainly don’t want to tax or charge themselves to fix it.
The City and NBS looked at a broad list of possible funding sources. Ultimately, we developed a parcel tax mechanism, which was approved by over 2/3 of the City voters in the November 2016 election. This is the first of its kind in California! It provides a critical source of ongoing funding for these efforts.
The City has an additional source of funds to address the ongoing stormwater needs. Moreover, creek restoration and an improved environment are part of the package of benefits for the community overall.
For more information, please contact: Pablo Perez, Director pperez@nbsgov.com.