Eugene residents have one last chance to weigh in on a planned 5% increase to stormwater fees.
This summer the Eugene City Council voted to include parks as a stormwater expense. That helped the city close an anticipated budget gap.
Eugene Public Works spokesperson Marion Suitor Barnes said the city’s green spaces are an essential barrier between polluted runoff and the Willamette River.
"Parks include stormwater facilities, rain gardens, all kinds of natural filtering that we use,” she said. “They're all a part of the stormwater system, but we just previously couldn't use stormwater funds to maintain those.
Before Eugene can begin collecting those higher fees, it must hold a public hearing. The public can weigh in on Sept. 16 at noon over the phone, or Zoom. Written comments are also being accepted until the 16th.
Signup information is available on the city’s website.
Eugene will begin collecting the fee on Nov. 1.
