PORTAGE | The City Council will get its first look at an ordinance establishing a stormwater maintenance fee and an independent city division to handle stormwater issues.

Public Works Director Craig Hendrix and consultant Otto Krohn are expected to give a presentation on how the fee came about and the projects it will support when the council meets at 6:30 tonight in council chambers of City Hall.

The ordinance will propose a $11 per month fee for residential properties with discounts given to qualifying senior citizens and disabled residents. Their monthly fee will likely be $8. Business and industry will also contribute to the fee. The base fee for a business will be $15 per month based on using a five-eights-inch water meter. Businesses using larger meters will be charged multiples of the base fee.

The fees will be used for two aspects of stormwater management.

A stormwater division of the Water Reclamation Department will be created. With a projected annual budget of $825,000, the money will fund five employees, equipment needs and smaller projects.

The larger portion of the fees will be used to support larger stormwater projects throughout the city. The city anticipates taking on $40 million in stormwater-related projects. Of that $30 million will be financed through bond issues repaid through the fees. Officials hope to gain an additional $10 million in grants to support the projects.

No action is expected at tonight's meeting on the new fee. It is anticipated the council will hold a public hearing on the matter at is January meeting.

In other business, the council:

- will consider an ordinance prohibiting people from parking vehicles in front of mailboxes.

- will consider an ordinance tightening up regulations on contractors licensing procedures.

- will consider several year-end transfers and appropriations.