Property owners in Chesapeake will see an unusually high stormwater utility fee of $92 this June, the city says.

That's due to a technical issue with the city's billing management system, according to a city news release. 

Last year's rate increase, which City Council approved as part of the city budget, was not added to residents' December bill as intended. It will be added onto June bills instead.

The new six-month fee is $68.10, and the city will add $24 from the previous six-month period. After June, the fee billed each six months will be just the $68.

Council's decision to increase stormwater fees was the first raise in over a decade, the city says. It increases residential monthly fees from $7.35 to $11.35.

The fees go toward the stormwater mangaement program through which the city repairs public ditches, pipe systems and other drainage structures.

City officials have said they need more money through that program to do needed improvement to local stormwater systems in order to combat flooding and maintain water quality as mandated by the state.

The fee mix-up comes while residents in Chesapeake have already been complaining of skyrocketing water bills. The city's utilities director blames most of those cases on leaks.

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