I am writing this column at the same time I am preparing our division's budget presentation to Charlotte City Council. Some council members are new to their roles this year, and I need to describe our program, celebrate our eight years of success, and generate support for Storm Water Services' long-range, proactive approach. How do I make the point that we're turning a corner strategically from a reactive to a proactive program yet maintaining the same vision for a "clean, safe, and cost-effective" drainage system?

Because some of the new council members might not have heard much about Storm Water Services, I'll want to review the history of our program, reaching back to the late 1980s when the Clean Water Act, an aging and ignored drainage system, and increasing local development forced Charlotte-Mecklenburg to take a hard look at its infrastructure. With many pipes and culverts pushing 80 years of age, council members understood and accepted the challenge. This effort resulted in the first stormwater utility in North Carolina.

Our city council uses a "Balanced Scorecard," a format borrowed from the corporate world, to structure planning efforts and measure the success of city services. Focus areas include seamless customer service, community safety, and economic development: three themes I will weave into my presentation.

Customer service has always driven our project identification and prioritization. In our first year of operation, more than 4,000 citizens called with qualifying service requests. After field inspection, staff realized that many required only localized infrastructure repairs spanning one to four properties. The highest-priority repairs addressed flooding that endangered public safety or damaged private property. Staff also identified more than 100 large capital improvement projects.

The price tag for these repairs was high. Estimates totaled in excess of $300 million. Annual revenue from the newly implemented stormwater utility fees was less than $15 million. At this rate, it could be decades before some customers were served. We implemented a balanced portfolio strategy, dedicating the highest percentage of funds to our highest priorities but also dedicating funds to lower priorities to ensure they were not ignored. The balanced portfolio included watershedwide flood control master planning, a "quick-turnaround" maintenance strategy, a channel erosion/stability program, support to areas targeted for neighborhood improvement, and an economic development fund to mitigate the challenges of infill development.

Council accepted the plan and increased bond sales to provide the necessary financing. Stormwater fees are used to pay the debt service on these and future bond issues. In return for this support, staff promised to complete the repair backlog by 2002.

The best message I'll deliver to council in a few weeks is that we have beaten that original 10-year customer service goal: The repair backlog is complete! More than 1,600 of these small repair projects have been completed. My challenge is to show that our new long-term goals are as important as that first goal of eliminating the high-priority repair-service request backlog.

Customer service, community safety, and economic development will remain our goals. Although our backlog is gone, experience shows we can expect 150-200 new repair-related service requests every year. In addition, we have a 15-year plan for addressing the large neighborhoodwide projects still on our waiting list and another 15-year plan for revisiting and addressing the 4,000-plus lower-priority service requests characterized by erosion in channels or generally poor drainage without flooding.

Our new mantra might also include something like "Find it and fix it before it floods," reflecting a more proactive approach to customer service. We plan to implement new field research practices and complete a systemwide infrastructure inventory to pinpoint and repair unsafe and deteriorating system elements before they become unsafe or generate service requests from citizens. This we see as a 10-year effort.

We will also take this opportunity to increase our investment in improving surface water quality by developing watershedwide water-quality plans that include installation of best management practices, stream restoration, reestablishment of stream buffers, and public education and involvement.

Our funding strategy is changing along with our program goals. In May 2000 we issued stormwater revenue bonds ($36,355,000) with an AA+ rating. We anticipate additional bond sales as we continue to catch up with repairs and upgrades. We mapped out a fee strategy that we hope will allow us to minimize our dependence on bonds within 15 years. This is more good news that I will be able to pass on to city council because, during that 15-year period, we will finish the reactive part of our program in addressing backlog. The program after the next 15-year period will perform proactive projects funded by "pay-as-you-go" fee revenues and will not depend on bond funding.

Stephen Sands, P.E., is division manager for Charlotte, NC, Storm Water Services.