Q. "Why was I sent a notice?"
A. You received an official notification of the public hearing that took place at City Hall on August 23, 2001. At that meeting, City Council adopted a stormwater assessment fee. The notice was sent to you as the owner of a developed property that will be affected by the fee. In includes the billing information for that specific property and invited you to attend that meeting.

Q. "How much money will the city collect from this assessment at the $68.43/year FY2012 proposed rate?"
A. It is estimated that $2,431,200 will be collected.

Q. "How will this money be spent?"
A. The money collected can ONLY be spent on stormwater service programs. As a result of passing this service assessment, however, $1.5 million will be available for NEW stormwater capital project to be paid from the General Fund.

Q. "Is Escambia County involved in this program?"
A. No. This is a city program and the money will only be spent on stormwater problems within the city limits.

Q. "What is an 'ESU'?"(Equivalent Stormwater Unit)
A. The ESU is a billing unit (similar to a kilowatt hour that is the billing unit used to measure electric consumption). In Pensacola, each ESU represents 2,998 square feet (proposed FY2012) of impervious surface that is found on the property.

Q. "What is 'impervious surface'?"
A. It is the area on a property that is covered by buildings, driveways, parking areas and other hard surfaces that prevent runoff from being absorbed into the soil.

Q. "How much will each residential property be charged?"
A. Single family home sites are assessed based on the impervious area range that they are in. The following ranges are:
Sq. ft. of impervious area
Small 101-1,100 = 0.44 ESUs $36.96/year
Small-Med 1,101-1,600 = 0.68 ESUs $46.53/year
Medium 1601-2500 = 1.0 ESUs $68.92/year
Large 2500-5600 = 1.53 ESUs 104.69/year
Very Large over 5600 sq. ft. calculated as a general parcel

Q. "How much will commercial properties pay?"
A. All developed parcels 9with over 100 sq. ft. of impervious surfaces) will be assessed. Non-residential properties (commercial, industrial, governmental, etc.) will be assessed based on the impervious area associated with their property. The calculation will consider the total amount of impervious surfaces (building footprint, parking lot, sidewalks and other paved surfaces) divided by the billing unit value of 2,998 (proposed FY 2012) and then will be multiplied by the adopted rate. In some cases, a reduction to the bill amount will be granted if the property has a privately maintained drainage facility in place. Some non-residential properties that were constructed after 1986 will automatically receive a mitigation credit. More information on mitigation credits and other adjustments has been mailed with the first class notice you have received.

Q. "I don't think my parcel should be charged a fee. How can I have it reviewed?"
A. Please contact Customer Service at 435-1800 and provide your name, address, phone number, a the best time for someone to reach you, and most importantly, the Parcel Identification Number found on the Notice of Public Hearing. You will be contacted within the next few days.