The May 12 City Commission meeting was a long one. Residents filled the chamber. The debate was real. And at the end of it, the Commission voted to raise the monthly stormwater rate from $10 to $15 starting October 1, with gradual increases continuing through 2030, when the rate reaches $20 per month.
That is a real increase, and it deserves a clear explanation.
A second and final vote is expected at the June meeting. Before that happens, here is what residents should understand about what this rate increase covers, why the fund needed it, and how the Commission arrived at this decision.
The stormwater fund was already running a deficit
Before any discussion of new services, City Manager Kevin Sweet addressed something residents may not have known: the stormwater enterprise fund has not been self-sustaining for years. Prior administrations moved general fund money into the stormwater account simply to keep existing services operational.
“Our stormwater is an enterprise fund, which means it should be self-sustaining, and it has not been,” Sweet said at the May 12 meeting. “Prior administrations have been moving general fund money into that account to keep it operational. So the stormwater enterprise fund has been running in a deficit, even maintaining existing services.”
That is not a sustainable situation. It means the stormwater system has been maintained at a bare minimum while a backlog of deferred work has grown quietly in the background. Hurricane Ian in 2022 made that backlog visible. Public Works Director Clete Saunier told commissioners that while no stormwater system in Florida could fully handle a storm of Ian’s scale, the flooding that followed pointed to specific infrastructure gaps that had gone unaddressed for too long.
The last time Winter Springs adjusted its stormwater rate before the recent $10 increase was 1992. Nobody in that chamber could argue that costs have not changed in the past three decades.
What the rate increase actually funds
The additional revenue — projected to grow from roughly $2 million annually to more than $4 million by 2030 — is structured to phase in services over time. The financial forecast presented at the meeting shows existing operating expenses holding steady while service enhancements are layered in gradually across fiscal years 2027 through 2030. This was intentional.
In practical terms, the rate increase funds:
A four-person maintenance crew dedicated to stormwater pond work, along with the trucks and equipment they need to do the job. Visual inspections of every public and private stormwater pond in the city. A commitment to higher-level maintenance for the city’s 88 hybrid ponds — ponds on private property that receive public stormwater drainage — with up to six ponds per year receiving full rehabilitation. Capacity to address creek maintenance and sediment removal as tertiary projects, as the fund stabilizes.
The most significant line item is pipe relining — approximately $120,000 per pond, based on an average pipe length of 400 feet at $275 per foot. Engineer David Hamstra walked commissioners through what happens when that maintenance is deferred: pipes crack, joints fail, soil migrates into the drainage system, and what starts as a small repair becomes a very expensive one. In one case Hamstra referenced, a 36-inch pipe replacement in a community development district cost over a million dollars — in a neighborhood only 20 years old.
“These are real numbers,” Hamstra told commissioners. “Averages, yes. But real.”
The rate would also keep pace with what neighboring communities are doing. At $15 per month, Winter Springs remains approximately in the middle of the pack for central Florida stormwater rates.
How the vote came together
The Commission was closely divided. Commissioners Paul Diaz and Mark Caruso voted against the increase, citing the broader financial strain residents are facing. Commissioners Cade Resnick and Sarah Baker voted in favor. Commissioner Victoria Bruce made the motion to approve.
She did not arrive at that decision quickly.
Throughout the discussion, Bruce pressed the consultants and city staff with practical questions. She asked whether stormwater impact fees could be imposed on new development. She asked whether using general fund reserves as a temporary bridge was allowable and advisable. She asked what would happen to staff and equipment if the Commission approved only the first year of increases and revisited the rest annually.
She also asked directly whether the rate schedule could be made less aggressive.
“Is there a way we can modify this schedule, make it less?” Bruce asked during the hearing.
The answer from the rate consultant was that pacing could be adjusted, but that doing so would delay services and leave the program without the sustained revenue it needs to function as designed. Hiring crews and ordering specialized equipment — some with 18-month lead times — requires a multi-year financial commitment. Starting and stopping creates the same deferred maintenance problem the city is now trying to dig out of.
After hearing that, and after listening to the full public discussion, Bruce moved to approve the rate ordinance as staff recommended.
“I want residents to understand that I took this seriously,” Bruce said. “I asked whether we could do less, whether we could slow it down, whether there was another way. The honest answer is that we have already waited too long. Every year this goes unaddressed, it gets more expensive. The families most at risk of flooding are often the ones least able to afford the damage when it happens.”
What this means going forward
The first reading has passed. A second and final vote is expected at the June Commission meeting. If approved, the new rate of $15 per month takes effect October 1.
The rate increase does not cover the 12 large regional stormwater improvement projects identified in the city’s recently adopted Stormwater Master Plan. Those projects — totaling approximately $8.8 million — are funded through the city’s third and fourth generation penny sales tax revenues, not through the stormwater utility rate. The rate increase funds operations, maintenance, and the pond rehabilitation program.
Residents with questions about the stormwater system, the pond maintenance program, or how the rate structure works are encouraged to attend the June meeting or contact the city directly.
