Auburn meetings to impact wallets

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, the council will kick off its FY2011 budget process during a called meeting, where city administrator Ron Griffith will present the preliminary spending plan for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Overall spending is expected to drop by about 5.9 percent.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, the council will have its regular monthly meeting, where it is expected to kick off the public process for a new "storm water utility fee" that would be assessed on all Auburn properties that have buildings or other impervious surfaces on them.

At 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9, the council will have a public hearing on the proposed stormwater utility fee. The initial proposal calls for a base rate of $31 for each 2,600 square feet of impervious surface. That would be the average cost for residential properties. But non-residential properties, such as businesses, churches and schools, could face annual fees of hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The fee is expected to generate about $153,000 annually for the maintenance, repair and improvement of the ditches, culverts and ponds that help control storm water runoff inside the city limits.