DALTON, Ga. — Dalton residents might be seeing an extra fee of $1 or $1.50 on their monthly water and wastewater bills. Members of the City Council are eying a fee to cover the expense of stormwater control.

“That’s a service we could charge for and probably should charge for, since it is a separate service from our other services,” said Mayor Dennis Mock.

The city took back control of stormwater in 2015 from Dalton Utilities, which had handled it for five years. Council members said at the time they were not dissatisfied with Dalton Utilities’ handling of stormwater issues but believed it was a service better provided in-house. The city has been funding that work, about $400,000 to $500,000 a year, from its general operating budget, though it cut that funding by about half this year. The city has a 2017 operating budget of just over $32 million.

Council members cautioned they are just discussing the idea of a stormwater charge and haven’t made any decisions.

“We are looking to see what other options may be out there,” said council member Tate O’Gwin. “It may not be one thing or the other. It may be a hybrid of things.” He did not elaborate.

Stormwater maintenance funding has accounted for just under 2 percent of the city’s operating budget for the last few years, and council members say they probably could continue to fund it at that level without a fee. But if they put the money back in that they cut this year they would have to take it from other areas, something they say they don’t want to do.

“We could do that and keep the money the same. But you are rolling the dice that nothing goes wrong and imposes a greater cost,” said O’Gwin.

Council members also say they want to identify some way not only to fund maintenance of the current infrastructure but also any new infrastructure that may be needed.

When Dalton Utilities was responsible for stormwater control, then-CEO Don Cope proposed a stormwater utility to fund the service. Under one version of the proposal, the utility would have charged a flat fee of $3 a month for houses, while other properties would have been charged based on the amount of impervious surface — buildings, pavements, etc. — on a property. Because rain rushes off such surfaces, they contribute to stormwater damage.

The City Council wasn’t receptive to the idea at the time, and some council members say they still see issues with the concept.

“That may be the fairest way. But it also creates a new bureaucracy and eats up some of the funds you collect,” said O’Gwin. “Citizens may be better served by a funding mechanism that is simpler and less costly to administer but a little less fair.”

When Dalton Utilities did manage stormwater control for the city, it charged a monthly fee to water and wastewater users.

“When they had it before, I believe the fee was 50 cents on water and 50 cents on wastewater (per residential customer),” said Mock. “Industrial was charged more … . The total revenue was about $290,000 (per year).”

Council members say they are looking at directing the utility again to charge a fee, perhaps sightly higher than before, and forward the money to the city.

“They are sending out bills every month anyway, and it makes much more sense than us putting a 49-cent stamp on a bill for a dollar or a dollar fifty and sending it out,” said council member Gary Crews.

What would the economic impact of these fees be?

“In the long run, and probably even in the short run, I think the benefits of having the city be able to do a better job of controlling stormwater will outweigh the costs of the fees,” said Crews.