San Mateo eyes new stormwater fee

“If we were to succeed with $8 and then have some tangible measurement of improvements, I think it might be easier to go back to the voters and ask for more, but it wouldn’t be $18 this time. It might be $8 to $10,” Councilmember Adam Loraine said at the council’s June 5 study session.

The city’s current general fund can support around $3.6 million annually to help with stormwater maintenance, according to a city staff report. The city needs around $9 million to fully fund system maintenance, with $3.9 million for operation, $2.0 million for Marina Lagoon dredging and $3.1 million for other capital projects. Marina Lagoon dredging will depend on the amount and containments, ranging from $1 million to $2 million. The city does not have a stormwater fee, and the cost would be a new fee altogether, rather than increasing sales tax.

Councilmember Rich Hedges argued for the full $18 fee and was optimistic it could pass a ballot measure if there were a significant ground campaign for support. He pointed to his previous experience passing measures around infrastructure that if there were many volunteers on the ground campaigning, it could move the needle.

“The longer we delay collecting the money and having to go back to the voters and maybe getting more money, the costs are going to escalate,” Hedges said. “It makes more sense to me to try and get the money now that we need to do the work.”

However, the three other councilmembers decided on a gradual approach that was more likely to succeed. Vice Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash also supported $8 after suggesting a compromise of $14, given city staff recommended against $14 due to the lack of specific polling numbers.

“I understand the challenge of trying to go for $18.87,” Diaz Nash said. “That would really be a major stretch.”

The city saw areas near San Mateo Creek and Marina Lagoon get extensive flooding and damage at the turn of the New Year, with San Mateo expecting around 1 inch of rain but getting about 5 inches on New Year’s Eve. The flooding resulted in the city having to close streets and set up barriers and traffic control in multiple residential neighborhoods. The storm aftermath prompted the council to first approve a Winter Storm Disaster Relief for many property owners impacted.

Over 5,000 surveys were mailed to property owners, and the return rate of 22% is considered above average, with a margin of error of 2.86%. The surveys were mailed March 31 and due back April 21. The survey found the number one priority was to protect against flooding and rehab infrastructure, followed by removing trash, capital projects to protect from flooding and better infrastructure. Lagoon dredging received the least amount of support. City staff will bring back a final fee report to the council in July. A ballot measure would need a simple majority to pass.