With the wettest spring on

record behind them, Peachtree City officials are considering the creation

of a stormwater management utility, a new city agency that would work

to fix areas where flooding problems frequently occur while also making

sure future development minimalizes the impact of stormwater runoff.

The stormwater management proposal

is the most ambitious likely to be included in the city's FY04 budget,

said City Manager Bernard McMullen.

The budget writing process

is well under way, he said. Public hearings are scheduled for July 24

and Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, McMullen told council members at Thursday's

meeting.

The budget, McMullen's first

since taking over as the city's CEO a month ago, most likely will require

an increase in spending over the current year's approximate $25 million

plan. But the city doesn't anticipate any huge revenue increases, he acknowledged,

and that could mean a slight increase in the millage.

About $1.6 million in capital

improvement funds will be carried over into the new year, he said.

"We have no plans to cut

services, and no plans to cut staff," he said. But the city must

continue to find ways to pay for the rising cost of employee benefit programs.

And as the city continues to mature, more and more funds will be needed

just to maintain the community's infrastructure.

And that's where the stormwater

utility concept comes in.

"What we need to do is

go back and fix the present problems, the drains and culverts that weren't

done the right way the first time," said McMullen, pointing out that

federal regulations on stormwater runoff and retention have changed dramaticallly

in the years since widespread development first took off in the city.

Mayor Steve Brown described

the operation of such an agency as very much like any other public utility,

such as water and sewer. The agency would establish a fee structure and

charge property owners,residential and commerical alike,a regular fee

based on "impervious surface area," or the potential for how

much rain runoff the property would create.

The tradeoff, Brown said, would

be a final end to some of the flooding that plagues various parts of the

city whenever heavy rains fall.

It would address problems like

that experienced by residents of the Smoke Rise neighborhood last week,

when the roadbed on Smoke Rise Trace gave way on its approach to the bridge

over the Flat Creek tributory.

This week, the roadbed was

rebuilt and packed and reopened to traffic while waiting for a final top-coat

of asphalt.

Similar to the stormwater issue,

another area of concern to be shown on the new budget will be finding

money to repair and maintain city street and the cart path system, both

of which have been damaged by the rain.

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