LEWISTON – Barring a court decision or a change in state rules, officials from the University Southern Maine don’t plan to pay the city’s storm-water utility fee.

“We don’t believe that state statutes allow the city to charge this storm-water assessment,” said Kelley Wiltbank, an attorney for the University of Maine system.

According to the city, the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College owes $8,725 in delinquent storm-water fees for properties at 61 and 51 Westminster St.

That’s a portion of the $113,299 in outstanding rain taxes that the city says it is owed. The city lists 419 accounts with unpaid balances, including 233 single-family homes and 147 larger buildings.

City Administrator James Bennett told councilors last week that the city cannot force property owners to pay the fee, but it can take them to court. If the court found in favor of the city, defendants likely would be forced to pay court costs as well, he said.

Bennett said he expects the city to take at least one delinquent property owner to court this year.

Wiltbank said that’s what it would take for USM to pay.

“We are tax-exempt,” he said. “They can charge service fees, but for someone in our category, they can only assess them on residential properties that are not dormitories. And we don’t have anything like that.”

Wiltbank said the college simply does not plan to pay the fee.

“They can’t even charge it to us,” he said. “And until the statutes get modified in some fashion or until the law in Maine says otherwise, we don’t believe they have the authority to do what they are doing.”

Bennett said Tuesday he’s confident the city’s fee is valid and legal.

“We spent a lot of time working on this and investigating all of the legal angles,” Bennett said. “It’s not something that was done without deliberate consideration.”

The city adopted the storm water utility fee – dubbed a rain tax by many – in 2005 to pay for culvert maintenance, street-sweeping and storm sewer-line projects. It’s based on the amount of hard surface on each property, including roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways.

Single-family homes pay $40 per year, duplexes $45 per year. All others, including businesses, churches and nonprofits, pay 4.4 cents per square foot.

“One premise of this is that it is not a tax – it’s a utility fee,” Bennett said. “The college pays utility fees now, for water and sewer. This is no different.”

Bennett said the City Council is scheduled to hear an appeal from Pepperell Mill owner Bob Gladu on his fees in August. Gladu, as Pepperell Associates, owes $41,675.47 for back storm water fees on the mill buildings at the corner of Lisbon Street and Adams Avenue, according to the city.

“We are waiting on further collection activity until after that appeal,” Bennett said. “Once the council makes a decision, we’ll give the other people on the list some time to settle their bill, then we’ll move forward.”

The college is not the only property owner on the list refusing to pay. Donald Dufour, who owns a storage facility at 6 Fireslate Place, owes the city $3,084 in back fees, according to the city.

“I don’t think it’s right, not at all,” he said. He argues that his property doesn’t have storm drains nearby and he shouldn’t be required to pay.

“As soon as they put storm drains in my road, that’s the day I’ll start paying this fee,” he said. “So they can go ahead and take me to court. I want a judge to look at this and see where this storm water is really going.”

But Augusta attorney Alonzo Garcelon said he was unaware he was in arrears on three properties he owns along Sabattus Street. He tried to pay it over the phone Monday afternoon, and planned to pay what he owed by Tuesday.

According to the city, Garcelon owes $7,943.34 for the lots between East Avenue and Spofford Street on Sabattus Street.

“I’m not thrilled to find this out, but if this is my share, that’s it,” he said. “I’ll pay it. It’s as simple as that.”

Garcelon said he must have missed seeing the city’s notices.

“I’m sure they tried to contact me,” he said. “But I get a lot of letters from the city, and most them are notices that someone nearby is building a home or something like that. So, I’m sure I just missed it.”

Unpaid storm-water utility fees

Top 10 delinquent accounts

1. Pepperell Associates: $41,675

2. USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College: $8,725

3. Alonzo Garcelon: $7,943

4. Howard D. Johnson Corp.: $6,490

5. Merrill Road Self Storage: $4,723

6. DFS Jr. Incorporated: $4,039

7. Pleasant St. Plaza Mall: $3,904

8. Donald P. Dufour: $3,084

9. Caleb Maine Devel. Corp.: $2,620

10. River Valley Village Assoc.: $2,236

Source: City of Lewiston