That hidden fee on my water bill finally clicked after 8 years in Bay Village

I was sitting down to pay my bills last night and noticed a line item called 'Stormwater Utility Fee' on my water bill from the City of Bay Village. It's been there for years, and I always just paid it without thinking. But this time I actually looked it up on the city website. Turns out the fee is based on how much hard surface you have on your property, like your driveway and roof. My neighbor's house is half the size of mine but his lot has less pavement so he pays almost $20 less per quarter. I had no idea it was calculated that way. It makes sense when you think about runoff and drainage, but it was a surprise to me. Anyone else look into how their stormwater fee is figured out?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantnelson3d ago

Guilty as charged, I just nod and pay whatever they throw at me.

valgibson3d ago

That's pretty much where I'm at too honestly, I just smile and hand over the card like a trained seal. It's funny how we all know they're probably marking stuff up 50 percent but we just roll over anyway because the alternative is way too exhausting. I tried pushing back once on a brake job and the guy looked at me like I had three heads and started using all these technical terms I'd never even heard of. By the end of it I was just nodding along and paying double what I originally planned, so much for that rebellion. At least when we all just pay it we can pretend we're saving ourselves a headache even if our wallets are crying.