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Expect environmental fee bill this month
Park improvements
Posted
Fountain Hills property owners can expect to receive the bill for the town’s annual environmental fee to arrive in January
In 2014, the Fountain Hills Town Council approved a $36 per year environmental fee for each parcel of land in Fountain Hills. The environmental fee supports a number of important environmental programs, many of which are mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Clean Water Act, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
The Town is required to undertake street sweeping, dust control, dam maintenance and storm drain and culvert inspection/cleaning. The environmental fee also helps pay for safety items such as storm water management, wash drainage and on-call storm damage cleanup.
The storm event on Oct. 2, 2018, caused severe damage to Golden Eagle Park.
“The environmental fee is being used to help in the recovery but will not be adequate to cover all of the costs,” said Town Finance Director Craig Rudolphy. “Unfortunately, the use of the funds for the storm damage repairs will reduce the required wash maintenance through June of 2019.”
Town Manager Grady Miller said his recommendation to the council is that the environmental fee be used for projects related to clean-up, dredging and shoring of washes that empty into the park.
He said that will mean that some of the more routine landscape clean-up and thinning in the washes will need to be deferred.
The damage caused by the storm means it is more important than ever that people step up and pay the fee as soon as possible after receiving the invoice, Miller said.
The town has more than 15,500 parcels that are billed the $36 fee. The town of Fountain Hills selected AMS Billing Services to invoice and collect the environmental fee for the town. The invoice for the 2019 annual environmental fee will be mailed in early January.
AMS Billing Services’ business hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Time (excluding holidays). AMS account representatives will be available to answer questions and assist in any way they can. Residents can contact the company by email: fountainhills@amsbilling.com or by phone: 1-941-358-1253.
