Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2020-13:  An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, amending the Flagstaff City Code, Title 7 Health and Sanitation, Chapter 7-03 Water System Regulations, Section 7-03-001-0010, Subsection A Water Rates, to establish a new Water Resources Infrastructure Protection through Wildland Fire Management Fee; providing for penalties, repeal of conflicting ordinances, severability, and establishing an effective date.

The Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection Fee will establish a sustainable and stable watershed management fund to be implemented by the Wildland Fire Management program, effective 8/1/2020. The Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection Fee is a joint effort between Management Services, Legal, Water Services, Sustainability, and Fire. 

If approved the Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection initiative would:

1. Adhere to the Regional Plan (2013)
2. Advance the Climate Adaptation and Action Plan (2018)
3. Advance the Greater Flagstaff Community Wildfire Protection Plan (2005/2018)
4. Adhere to the Wildland-Urban Interface Code (2008).

Council Goals:

• High Performing Governance
• Safe & Healthy Community
• Livable Community 

Regional Plan:

• Policy E&C.1.5. Seek feasible alternatives to reduce the smoke produced through prescribed burns and slash piles while continuing efforts to return fire to its natural role in the ecosystem. 
• Policy E&C.2.2. Promote investments that strengthen climate resiliency.
• Policy E&C.3.2. Review and revise existing regulations, standards, and plans (codes, ordinances, etc.) to reduce the community’s vulnerability to climate change impacts.
• Policy E&C.3.3. Invest in forest health and watershed protection measures.
• Policy E&C.3.4. Increase the region’s preparedness for extreme climate events
• Policy E&C.4.1. Assess vulnerabilities and risks of Flagstaff’s natural resources.
• Policy E&C.6.1. Encourage public awareness that the region’s ponderosa pine forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem and strive to restore more natural and sustainable forest composition, structure, and processes.
• Policy E&C.6.2. Encourage all landowners and land management agencies to emphasize forest ecosystem restoration and catastrophic fire risk reduction for the lands under their respective jurisdictions.
• Policy E&C.6.3. Promote protection, conservation, and ecological restoration of the region’s diverse ecosystem types and associated animals.
• Policy E&C.6.4. Support collaborative efforts to return local native vegetation, channel structure and, where possible and applicable, preservation and restoration of in-stream flows to the region’s riparian ecosystem.
• Policy E&C.6.5. Preserve Flagstaff’s wetland areas and discourage inappropriate development that may adversely affect them and the ecosystem services they provide.
•  Policy E&C.6.6. Support cooperative efforts for forest health initiatives or practices, such as the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), to support healthy forests and protect our water system.
• Policy E&C.10.2. Protect, conserve, and when possible, enhance and restore wildlife habitat on public land.

 
This effort supports the Team Flagstaff Strategic Plan Mission and Vision. Protecting our watersheds and water infrastructure from the impacts of catastrophic wildfire enhances the quality of life for Flagstaff citizens while providing “a balance of economic, environmental, educational and cultural opportunities” for all.

Yes. 

At the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget Retreat on February 4, 2020, Council directed staff to pursue the recommendations presented.   

On March 17, 2020 Council approved Resolution 2020-11 to adopt the Notice of Intent to raise water or wastewater rates or rate components, fees or service charges and set a date for a public hearing on June 2, 2020.

On May 12, 2020 staff gave a presentation to Council on the Water Resource and Infrastructure Protection Fee.

Council has three options:

1. Approve the Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection Fee

2. Reject the Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection Fee

3. Approve the Water Resource & Infrastructure Fee at a rate higher or lower than staff’s recommendation and provide staff direction

A sustainable, healthy forest is the very backdrop of our area, and the reason many call the Flagstaff area home. Our watershed protection efforts managed by the Wildland Fire Management (WFM) program are a unique effort to ensure the safety and water security of our greater community. It is a national model for others who face similar challenges. Destructive wildfire is a significant natural threat facing us and it has potential to inflict long-lasting damage to the community. It also is a recurring, annual threat that is identifiable, predictable, and solvable. Following a damaging wildfire, post-fire impacts, notably uncontrolled flooding, is a real possibility. These events often continue for years after the fire and are often more destructive than the fire. Once the ecosystem begins to unravel, it is very difficult to protect those impacted and even harder to restore. To protect our community and promote healthy, sustainable forests, our WFM program, first initiated in 1997, acts throughout the Flagstaff Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI), an area that encompasses several jurisdictions and ownerships and can extend for miles outside our jurisdictions.  Over the past 22 years, the community has made a major investment in this effort, one that must continue if we are to protect our watersheds, water supply, and water infrastructure. 
 
Over the past 2-3 years, Staff has discussed, with both the Budget Team and City Council, the rapidly approaching need to establish a sustainable, stable, and long-term fund to support and continue the Wildland Fire Management program.  At the February 4, 2020 Budget Workshop, staff provided greater detail on potential options. On March 17, 2020 Council approved Resolution 2020-11 to adopt the Notice of Intent to raise water or wastewater rates or rate components, fees or service charges and set a date for a public hearing on June 2, 2020 related to the program.

The City’s Wildland Fire Management Division is the only local fire and fuels management resource reporting to City Leadership.

City Staff has completed a financial analysis of the proposed fee.  The report is attached to this staff summary.  Based on this financial analysis, we are providing some high-level customer impacts below. 

Residential and Commercial Customers: Based on a $0.52 rate, residential and commercial customers that consume 3,500 gallons of water monthly will see a fee of $1.82 per month.  Residential and commercial customers that consume 10,000 gallons of water monthly will see a fee of $5.20 per month.

Long-time support by Flagstaff residents for forest protection efforts is well documented:

• In 2001, 2006, and again 2013, city-sponsored surveys consistently showed that 85%+ of respondents understood forest issues and supported efforts to address wildfire risk.
• In 2005 the Community Wildfire Preparedness Plan was adopted without a single dissenting voice from the community: this was followed in 2008 by adoption of the Wildland-Urban Interface Code, again without a single dissenting voice from the community.
• In 2010, the Southern Fire Exchange, in a national survey, ranked Flagstaff as one of the few “upper-tier” communities in terms of acceptance and support for prevention and preparedness efforts;
• A 2012 NAU “willingness to pay” survey showed that residents were willing to pay an average of $4.50 more per month to protect forests and water infrastructure.
• Later in 2012, Proposition 405 (now known as FWPP) was approved by 74% of voters.
• In 2018, two Flagstaff focus-groups hosted by the National Forest Foundation and the Trust for Public Lands revealed that households were willing to pay an average of $50 per year for forest and water infrastructure protection.

In 2019, following the Museum Fire, NAU undertook a community survey that disclosed:

• 70% of respondents want to see more forest management work around Flagstaff
• 84% of respondents felt forest management should be a priority of local officials
• Less than 40% of respondents feel like enough is being done to address fire risk
• In all income strata’s ($0-$100K in $20K increments; and $100K-$250K+ per year in $50K increments), folks were willing to pay between $5-$100/month to support forest management efforts in the Flagstaff area.

Of significance, the 2012 and 2019 surveys, and the 2018 focus group, all revealed the willingness of residents to pay roughly $50/year for the services provided by the WRIP fee, nearly twice the proposed rate for a single-family residence.

Since the formation of the Wildland Fire Management Program, the number, size and intensity of wildfires burning within the City has decreased. Without the Program in place we can expect to see an increase in number, size and intensity of wildfires within the greater Flagstaff area and negative impacts to the water-security of our city.

Staff will present the fee structure to both the Water Commission , Open Spaces Commission and the Sustainability Commission for review and feedback. Comments from both Commissions will be included during the fee adoption in June. 

The public will have the opportunity to provide comments at the public hearings on June 2 and June 16, 2020. Notice of these public hearings was posted on the City website 60 days in advance, and a newspaper notice was published on or about May 18, 2020.

The Fire Department will coordinate with the Sustainability Section to develop and manage a public outreach effort, recognizing the reality of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Coordinated efforts will include a combination of social media platforms, list serves, monthly newsletters, community forum, community partners, direct/electronic mailing where possible (ex: notice in water bills), and volunteer corps (Master Recyclers, Sustainability Leaders, Community Stewards, Climate Leaders, and Climate Ambassadors) . A series of short YouTube videos are being developed for public distribution.

In addition, multiple partners have been engaged in the Water Resource & Infrastructure Protection efforts in our community for 20+ years, to include the US Forest Service, Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership, the NAU Ecological Restoration Institute, AZ Game & Fish, US Fish and Wildlife Service, AZ State Dept of Forestry & Fire Management, neighborhood associations, volunteers, and other citizen groups.