1 in 10, including Postal Service, failed to pay stormwater fees

Owners of nearly one in 10 properties the city has billed for stormwater fees, including those owned by the U.S. Postal Service, didn't pay last year.

Property owners who don't pay face late fees this year. Last year, the first year of billing for the enterprise, late charges were waived.

Bills from 2007 and 2008 that remain delinquent by July will be sent to the El Paso County Treasurer's Office in August to be attached to 2009 property tax statements, stormwater manager Ken Sampley said Monday.

That won't work for the Postal Service, because the federal government is exempt from property taxes.

Asked how the city plans to collect, Sampley said, "That's a question. We're getting to the point now where we'll start to process collection on that."

He didn't explain how.

Sampley estimated the 9 percent of unpaid invoices in 2007 represent roughly $1.4 million in revenue.

The Stormwater Enterprise was created in 2005 by the City Council, which enacted fees effective in 2007. Fees are based on impervious surface and type of property - residential, commercial and nonprofit/governmental.

Since the enterprise began billing last year, it has collected $15.8 million. The money pays for storm drains and channel repairs, maintenance and new construction projects.

The enterprise had a rocky start as thousands of land owners didn't pay because of confusion or opposition to the fee, which some see as a tax.

The stormwater fees gave rise to two proposed ballot measures that would overhaul how enterprises operate. Backers are collecting signatures under a June 17 deadline; 11,470 signatures are needed.

"More people seem to be paying up," Sampley said Monday. "It might be some were waiting to see if we would have an interest charge."

The council waived interest charges last year to give people time to become familiar with the enterprise and its billings. But interest of 6 percent per year kicks in this year.

Sampley said "some federal agencies" are among those who haven't paid. He didn't name others but identified the Postal Service, because none of its numerous facilities have paid.

"The Postal Service is a customer just like any other customer," he said.

Postal Service spokesman Ron Perry in Colorado Springs said utility bills are paid from the Denver office, and he wasn't able to reach someone Monday for an explanation.

Sampley said the Postal Service also has refused to pay stormwater fees in Denver. Denver officials couldn't be reached for comment.

A similar matter was litigated after the city of Cincinnati sued the federal government in 1997 for failing to pay $61,000 in stormwater management fees. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, "because the storm drainage service charges levied against the United States by the City of Cincinnati constitute impermissible taxation of the federal government."

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