Our View: City must get busy to convince residents that stormwater charge is necessary.

Mayor Roger Chase says he will personally work to keep the city's new stormwater fee, which will be a ballot question in municipal elections come November. The mayor will need a lot of help.

The ineptitude with which city officials handled the initial fee proposal and its subsequent adoption has made it the most unpopular government dictate since the ill-fated fire protection fee invalidated by a court several years ago. It even rivals the abortive dumpster fee in the annals of far-out revenue-raising measures.

Most of us have left it to city leaders to research and make the necessary decision, so council members were given the lead. Now, everyone gets to vote. They'll have to be convinced.

When the city first broached the stormwater fee, it was explained away as a "federal mandate," which served only to make it unpalatable from the outset. Then it was advised that some local payers would have to cough up several thousand dollars per year, based on the amount of asphalt or cement covering their property which contributes to runoff after storms. It didn't help that many residents confused the proposed stormwater fee with the drainage system built recently to alleviate flooding on east side streets after heavy storms - an unrelated project.

A great measure of common sense eventually prevailed, with the council voting to set the fee at $2.44 for the average homeowner, with a cap of $50.

But that hasn't satisfied those who oppose any stormwater fee on principle. When they started a petition drive to place the fee on the ballot, the City Council quickly acquiesced; hence residents will have an opportunity to vote in November on whether they want to keep the fee. It won't be an easy sell.

Supporters of the fee say it is necessary to maintain infrastructure and street sweepers to keep runoff from contaminating the Portneuf River and its aquifer. But that's not a very sexy explanation; what the mayor and council must do is convince the electorate of the need for clean water. That's something we all can endorse, if we understand how the stormwater fee will help.

The mayor will have to start immediately enlisting supporters -environmental groups and others - who will speak up and provide evidence that dealing with stormwater is necessary and worthwhile. Already some dissenters on the City Council suggest that an increase in the franchise fee charged Idaho Power Co. would make more sense.

There probably will be more interest in the matter from now on, since the city has begun mailing the first billings for the stormwater fee. And there's nothing like a new monthly bill to catch the voters' attention.