- December 15, 2025
The stormwater fee is ‘a bureaucratic mess,’ according to Landon. Taxes will be considered.
With an ongoing need to update stormwater infrastructure throughout Palm Coast, city officials will look away from the current stormwater fee and turn toward new methods to generate revenue, such as raising property taxes and establishing a utility franchise free and utility tax.
At Tuesday’s City Council workshop, City Manager Jim Landon said the current stormwater fee system, which was put in place April 1, 2011, is unfair.
“We’re finding that from a public policy standpoint, we have many fairness issues,” Landon said. “The ordinance does meet the (legal) criteria, but it is very complicated now to administer. ... Many of the issues do appear unfair, and city staff — those of us who try to address it — would agree it’s unfair. Now you have a bureaucratic mess.”
The projected revenue for the current fiscal year for stormwater is $4.9 million. The total projected expenditures, however, total $7.5 million — with the additional $2.6 million coming from a combination of property tax and the half-cent sales tax.
The City Council is in support of generating the money from a combination of an increase in property taxes, as well as establishing a utility franchise fee and utility tax.
Landon said that to make up the difference so that it stays $8 per month on average for the resident, “we came up with a total of fee and tax of 8.5%.”
With the current stormwater fee, most of the burden is on the residents, while many commercial lots see exemptions and pay little to no fees at all.
The combination of the property taxes and utility tax would offset an imbalance, Landon said. The property tax would be for owners of vacant lots. Then, if there’s a building on the property, the utility fee would help contribute more.
City Councilman Frank Meeker said stormwater needs to be funded one, adding: “We have to make an unpopular call, one way or another.
Mayor Jon Netts agreed: “No one wants to raise taxes, but we have an obligation to maintain the infrastructure of the city.”
Netts to discuss sales tax options
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts will represent the Palm Coast City Council on the countywide task force that will discuss the options of the half-cent sales tax.
The sales tax expires Dec. 31. The county has debated changing the distribution formula to fund a jail. Palm Coast wants to use its portion to help pay for stormwater infrastructure improvements.
