Uneven application put stormwater fee in court

Editor:

The stormwater utility tax was, as I understand it, to resolve problems with water damages to ones property. Yet a June 22 story in The News-Times, County to fix rain damage, stated that the tax (fee) was used to repair roads in a subdivision.

I think most people in Columbia County would support the fee if it were evenly applied. It is legally impossible to tax half a county - for any purpose. The fee/tax collected is being kept in the general funds of the water system, not in a special fund. A little research into this type of fee arrangement in other areas of the United States indicates there are specific requirements to be met:

funds collected are to be kept separate in a specific fund designated for those fees;

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funds must be used for specific purposes;

they are taxes and as such must be evenly applied throughout a geographical area.

If the above conditions were met, there wouldnt be a lawsuit pending against the county.

Floyd Brown

Evans