Longmont Water Board recommends $63,000 2027 water-rights fee
The board voted 4-0 to recommend the rate, about 30% above a previously proposed fee; records reviewed as of July 21 did not show City Council action.
The Longmont Water Board voted 4-0 July 20 to recommend that City Council set the city’s 2027 cash-in-lieu fee for water rights at $63,000 per acre-foot. The recommendation is not a City Council decision.
The Water Board packet records the recommendation and says the amount had been discussed and vetted. During discussion, board member Renee Davis urged annual increases and quarterly reviews so the city would make smaller adjustments instead of larger periodic changes.
As of July 21, records reviewed for this story did not show City Council considering or adopting the 2027 fee. The city’s City Council meetings page directs the public to council agendas, minutes and meeting records.
The proposed rate is about 30% higher than the $48,500 figure identified in a city background document on water cash-in-lieu fees as the most recent staff evaluation’s proposed increase. The document lists the fee at $18,528 per acre-foot as of February 2022, making the new recommendation about 240% higher than that rate.
The available records do not establish the adopted cash-in-lieu rates for 2024, 2025 and 2026, so they do not provide a complete year-by-year rate history.
The fee is intended to generate revenue for Longmont’s Water Acquisition Fund. The city’s proposed financial policies say the fund is financed by cash payments received in lieu of water rights and can support water-supply projects, water-rights acquisition and conservation programs that reduce the need to purchase additional rights.
City Council’s eventual action will determine whether the recommended amount becomes the 2027 fee.