By: Kelly McKinney, Richmond In Depth
After a recent vote by the Richmond City Commission upended a planned land use fee to fund 911 services, the Madison County Fiscal Court is now investigating placing fees on water meters.
A flat fee on water meters will be more in line with what citizens have said they would like to see with the 911 fee, Madison County Deputy Judge-Executive Jill Williams told the fiscal court Tuesday.
“We had feedback of, ‘Hey, we want everybody to pay the same,’” Williams said. “That was overwhelming feedback that I think the court heard and, obviously a water meter enables that equitability for multiple parcels and things of that nature.”
The fees would apply to properties with water meters in the unincorporated parts of the county. The cities of Berea and Richmond are still working to implement fee structures going forward (the City of Richmond is absorbing the cost for 2025, so there will be no fee for citizens this year).
If all existing water meters in the county were charged the same rate, that amount would be $4.54 each month, equaling $54 per year. At that rate, the fees would bring in $1,010,070 from the county’s 18,705 water meters.
However, magistrates indicated they would like county officials to explore charging a higher rate for non-residential properties than for residential properties. Less than 5% of water meters in the county are for commercial properties, according to information presented Tuesday.
Magistrate Brian Combs said a water meter fee would enable the county to bring in more funding as its population increases and development occurs.
“As the county grows, you’re adding water meters,” he said.
County officials had researched both putting fees on water meters and staying with placing the fees on land parcels but charging a flat rate, rather than basing the fees on square footage as the previously approved—and now rescinded—fee structure had done.
“Both approaches have some merits, and some challenges,” Williams said. She added that both “capture” many more residents than the current landline fee.
According to information presented on Tuesday, the county has a total of 20,290 land parcels. To bring in the same amount as the water meter fees, a flat rate on land parcels would be $49.78 each year.
The fee of $54 per year is more than what many property owners in the county would have paid under the previously approved fee structure. For residential and farm dwellings, only those 3,375 square feet or larger would have incurred a fee of $54 or more.
However, owners of land-only parcels and farms that do not have water meters will not incur any fee. Just under 8% (1,585) of the land parcels in the county have no water meter.
What happens with current landline fee?
For the unincorporated parts of the county, the current landline fee will likely be sunset at the end of this year if the fiscal court approves a new fee structure.
Williams said both the fiscal court and county officials have “felt pretty adamant” about not implementing more than one fee structure, though some localities in Kentucky have done so.
The landline fee would have been sunset under the previously approved ordinance establishing the square-footage based fee model. It was revived under the ordinance repealing that fee structure.
Previously approved fee structure would not have worked without City of Richmond’s inclusion
The previously approved fee structure, which charged higher fees on multi-family and commercial properties than residential properties and farms, would not have worked applied only in the agricultural-heavy county.
After Richmond’s elected officials decided to have the city pay the needed funding for properties within the city, the portion each local government was responsible for was determined by the number of calls to 911 that resulted in a dispatch in each locality, Williams said.
The City of Richmond’s portion was by far the biggest, at about 56% of the approximately $4.28 million that officials have said is needed to fully fund 911.
The county’s portion is just below 24%, or just over a million dollars. The City of Berea’s portion is about $873,000, or just over 20%.
Administration fees
Officials previously cited the need to pay administration fees to the utility companies as a reason they had rejected placing fees on utility bills.
Though county officials have not yet negotiated fees with the utilities, other governments who have placed fees on water meters typically pay a 2% to 3% fee. If the utilities charge within that range, the total fee paid to the utilities would run around $20,000 to $30,000.
Williams said they were waiting to receive word from magistrates that a fee on water meters is the direction they want to go before negotiating fees with the area’s five water utility districts.
A fee placed on land would be collected along with property taxes by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, which, by statute, charges 4.25% of the amount collected.
If a fee on water meters is approved, the fee would likely start in January 2026.
The fiscal court unanimously approved repealing the land use fee that had been approved. It will likely vote at an upcoming meeting on the new fee structure.
Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor stressed that “there is a timeline” in getting a new fee approved.
FEMA funding through the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, which had been used for some 911 expenses, will expire at the end of September.
“911 must go on,” Taylor said.
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