New El Paso Stormwater Utility Faces Lawsuit, Petition
EL PASO, Texas, May 23, 2008 (ENS) – A lawsuit seeking a ruling that El Paso’s new stormwater utility is illegal, and a separate petition that seeks to place the utility under the City Council, were aimed at the stormwater utility last week.
The lawsuit was filed in state district court against the City of El Paso and the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board on Thursday by government watchdog Ray Gilbert, Jr. and two other El Paso property owners.
Represented by El Paso attorney Brett Duke, the plaintiffs argue that Texas state law does not give the city the authority to delegate the control and operation of the new utility to the five-member Public Service Board.
The plaintiffs are seeking, first, a temporary injunction prohibiting the city and the Public Service Board from imposing or collecting stormwater fees and then, a declaratory judgment that the utility was illegally established, followed by a permanent injunction blocking the collection of fees.
Last July, the El Paso City Council created a separate utility to manage stormwater drainage and moved the responsibility for stormwater management and control to the Public Service Board.
The board began managing the new stormwater utility on March 1. Before that date, stormwater management functions were shared by several city departments and funded from the city’s general fund.
The new stormwater fees imposed in March have added more than $1,000 per month to the water bills of some businesses, churches and schools, causing a public outcry in El Paso.
Owners of homes in the 2,000 to 3,000 square foot range saw a $4.75 monthly charge added to their water bills.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that because the new stormwater utility is illegal, the charges it has imposed are also illegal. The plaintiffs contend that they paid the “illegal stormwater charges to avoid disruption of water services” to their properties and to avoid financial penalties.
They claim that if the court does not stop the new utility, even higher charges could be imposed.
The stormwater fee pays for the operations and maintenance of the existing stormwater system, as well as the planning, design and construction of system improvements.
Water officials say that most of the channels, culverts, and storm drainage trunk-lines do not have adequate capacity to convey the water from a 100-year event.
The suit is the second threat to the new utility that was in motion last week.
On Wednesday, the Concerned Taxpayers of El Paso filed notice with the City Clerk’s Office that the organization will begin circulating initiative petitions for a special election to remove the Public Service Board from oversight of the stormwater utility and to put the utility under City Council.
To date, the group has not made its leadership or membership publicly known. The unnamed petitioners have 60 days to gather 2,210 signatures from eligible voters.
