City and county officials stopped short of waving their hands in the air Monday during a discussion about the city’s deteriorating stormwater infrastructure, and though no solution was found, two new steps were taken. Sort of.

Mayor Steve Bach told City Council members during their meeting he wants to put together a special task force to examine the issue, and El Paso County Commission Chairwoman Amy Lathen told the council she wants to hold a special summit next month.

Bach said his task force would include representatives from his office, the city council, the county commission and every other local government in the county. Lathen told the council she wants to bring together stakeholders from across the region for her August summit.

But a clash over funding mechanisms is already taking shape.

A tax increase is not outside the realm of possibility, said two council members, and council president Scott Hente said during the meeting that they’ll have to “make the hard decision.”

“At some point, we’re going to have to accept that this costs money, and the money has to come from somewhere,” Hente said.

Councilwoman Jan Martin and Councilman Val Snider both said a tax increase shouldn’t be taken off the table, but that they need to look at every option they have before pushing a tax hike.

Bach, however, flatly refused to support any kind of tax hike, be it sales tax, mill levies or anything else. Instead, he said the task force will need to come up with a workable plan. He also pointed out that he’s directed his administration to scour the city budget for possible savings.

Brian Kelley, the city’s engineering manager, told council members that they have a $498 million backlog of capital improvement projects. And the entire city budget was only $379 million as of January.

Kelley showed council members before-and-after photos of several channels, culverts, pipes and bridges that are in serious need of repair. He warned that the longer they wait, the more repairs will cost. The Shooks Run culvert alone needs $10 million in repairs, in two separate places, he said. And the Platte Ave. Bridge over Sand Creek nearly collapsed at one point. It was saved only by emergency repairs, Kelley said.

“A lot of these systems are reaching their design life,” Kelley said, adding that much of the city’s infrastructure dates back to the 1950’s.

On top of that, many areas face the danger of flash floods because the Waldo Canyon Fire gutted forests across western El Paso County that have served as protective barriers, Kelley said. He named six different creeks that pose a threat, and said flash floods will pose a threat for years, until the forests grow back.

Mike Anderson, of Summit Economics, said the issue could be much simpler than the council was making it.

Anderson said the easiest ways for them to cover the much-needed repairs would be through a new stormwater enterprise, a county property tax or sales tax, or a property tax for the Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District.

Anderson said that a property tax, also called a mill levy, could raise between $19 million and $38 million, depending on where it’s established.

El Paso County could raise nearly $36 million annually by increasing its sales and use tax by 51 cents or by charging households $5.80 a month for a stormwater fee, Anderson said. And a stormwater authority could also raise $36 million annually by charging the $5.80 monthly fee.

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