Lakeland commissioners are expected to vote Monday, Dec. 15, on a major increase to the stormwater fee charged on city utility bills.
The fee, currently $9.72 per month for a single-family home, would rise to $17.47 over five years. The first phase of the rate increase would begin March 1, raising the rate for a typical single family home to $11.27.
City officials say the change is urgently needed to address more than $69 million in unfunded stormwater and lake projects over the next 10 years — including flood prevention and state mandates to clean up pollution.
But one of Lakeland’s most influential business groups, Lakeland Economic Development Council (LEDC), says the hike goes too far, too fast and shifts too much of the burden onto commercial users over residential users.
A $69.4 million math problem
The decade of unfunded expenses includes:
- $44 million for drainage improvements such as flood protection, stormwater management and replacement of aging pipes, culverts and ditches
- $25 million for lake restoration, including state-required reductions in nutrients and pollution
That shortfall looms over a department with an annual budget of $9.3 million. The entire fiscal 2026 budget for new drainage and water quality improvement projects was $700,000.
“That really limits us in what we’re going to be able to do,” Lakes and Stormwater Manager Laurie Smith told commissioners last week.
Smith added that her department “looks under every rock” to find grants to help, but competition is fierce and the work is mandatory. “If we don’t comply with our unfunded mandates, we are at risk of getting consent orders from the state, and we won’t get grants if we don’t comply with mandates,” she said.
During a two-and-half-hour discussion on Dec. 1, Mayor Bill Mutz noted that the cost and needs will likely grow with time.
Finance Director Mike Brossart put it simply: “What you have is a math problem. We don’t generate enough revenues to solve for this $69 million that we know of today.”
To address the funding gap, the city hired Geosyntec Consultants and its specialty subcontractor Anser Advisory in 2023 to study Lakeland’s stormwater rate.
Geosyntec’s report recommended three changes:
Lower the equivalent residential unit (ERU) from 5,000 to 3,850 square feet to more accurately reflect the average impervious area of a Lakeland home.
Raise the fee for one ERU from $9.72 to $17.47 per month in a series of increases from 2026 to 2030.
Reduce stormwater credits for private on-site stormwater ponds and drainage systems from 75% to 50%.
LEDC: Magnitude of increase is ‘extreme’ and harmful to employers
The largest opposition to the recommended changes came from LEDC President Steve Scruggs, who said the proposal creates a “double whammy” for businesses. Lowering the ERU to 3,850 square feet would create a 30% jump before any rate increase.
Scruggs estimated the increase would fall 65% on businesses and 35% on residents, even though many commercial developments already have private on-site stormwater ponds and drainage systems.
“I think that it’s important to know, there will be some commercial customers that will pay a 366% increase because of loss of credits,” he said.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden said she thinks residents should shoulder more of the burden. “To me, commercial properties are having to pay for the residents who are honestly the most ill-affected if we don’t take care of our lakes and our stormwater,” Madden said.
She asked if there was a way to tier residential rates and perhaps levy a special assessment in areas with the highest flood risk.
“There are other ways to approach it,” City Attorney Palmer Davis said. “This is by far the most common way. But in order to have a legal special assessment, you have to determine the benefit received by each property.”
Keep Lakeland competitive
The consultants’ report showed that the increase would put Lakeland in the middle of the pack compared with other cities.
But Scruggs questioned the list, which included coastal communities like West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, Naples and Clearwater. He said Lakeland aligns more closely with inland cities such as Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Ocala, Gainesville and Tallahassee.
Scruggs noted that the LEDC has supported other increases, including electric, water, wastewater and impact fees.
“We’re not asking for the lowest stormwater rates,” he said. “We’re asking for competitive rates with comparable cities.”
Mutz said there was room for compromise on the size of the increase, but he was not interested in comparing Lakeland with other cities.
“We’ve got to think about what we need to do to be able to keep the quality of life in this city,” the mayor said. “I’m a firm believer in the fact that we will not lose any commercial business because of our stormwater fees in Lakeland.”
Timing: ‘Too big for two holiday meetings’
Scruggs urged commissioners to delay the vote and explore alternatives, especially with two new members, Ashley Troutman and Terry Coney, joining the Commission soon.
“This important decision should not be crammed into two meetings at the end of the year, during the holidays,” he said.
Commissioners Chad McLeod, Bill Read and Sara Roberts McCarley said they were open to slowing down and studying alternatives.
However, Mutz urged them to move ahead. He said Lakeland has flooding issues that “we know have to be mitigated,” and it won’t happen “out of being timid and not doing what we should do.”
The proposal advances to the City Commission meeting on Monday, Dec. 15, where commissioners can approve, amend or reject it.
How stormwater fees work
Lakeland’s stormwater rate has not changed since 2021.
Unlike electricity or wastewater, which can be measured precisely, stormwater is influenced by weather patterns and surface types.
Hard surfaces like roofs, driveways and parking lots are called impervious because rain can’t soak into them. Instead, water runs off quickly into storm drains, often carrying oil, fertilizer and other pollutants into lakes and groundwater.
Lakeland bills using an equivalent residential unit (ERU) — the average amount of impervious surface on a typical single-family home.
- Residential Billing: Most homes pay a flat monthly rate of one ERU, regardless of the property’s size or value.
- Non-Residential Billing: Commercial properties like warehouses, shopping centers and apartments are measured for their total impervious surface. That number is divided by the city’s current ERU value of 5,000 square feet to determine how many homes’ worth of stormwater they generate.
