About those fees...

We often get questions about the added fees on the MLGW bills. Below you will see how each fee came to be, and how it affects the total amount of your bill.

Vector Control Fee 

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The Memphis & Shelby County Health Department's Vector Control Program prevents mosquito and rodent-borne disease epidemics. 

To help fund the program, the County Commission authorized a Vector Control Fee in 2005 of $0.75 per month on bills issued by MLGW.


Storm Water Fee

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In 1990, the EPA issued storm water regulations that required Memphis to control water pollution caused by storm water runoff. In 2006, the City Council approved an ordinance to collect fees through MLGW billing. 
 

The storm water fee is calculated based on the number of SFUs (Single Family Unit) assessed to the property. Residential properties have an SFU amount assigned to the type of residential property and that is multiplied by an SFU rate. As of January 2018, the current SFU rate is $4.64. Charges are typically the same every month and monthly billing is considered to be on a 30 day cycle.

All single family homes are classified as small, average, or large homes with an associated SFU as shown below:

Small          1,841 square feet or less = 0.58 SFU      Monthly Fee $2.69
Average     1,842-4,794 square feet = 1 SFU              Monthly Fee $4.64
Large          4,794 square feet or more = 1.52 SFU   Monthly Fee $7.05

Non-single family homes and associated SFUs are as shown below:

Multifamily homes = 0.41 SFU                                        Monthly Fee $1.90
Town homes/Condominiums= 0.57 SFU                   Monthly Fee $2.64
Mobile homes= 0.77 SFU                                                  Monthly Fee $3.57
High-Rise Apartments= 0.13 SFU                                  Monthly Fee $0.60

Street Light Fee

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In 2013, City Council approved a schedule of fees to be included on MLGW bills for operation, maintenance and repair of the 83,000 street lights within the Memphis City limits to replace the $13 million previously billed directly to the City.

The fees are $1.08 per month for apartment residents; $4.32 per month for other residential customers; $6.48 per month for small commercial customers; and $19.07 per month for large commercial customers.


Fire Department Fee

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Shelby County's Fire Department is funded by a system of fire fees collected in the areas that are provided protection. In 1997, the Tennessee Attorney General ruled that the Shelby County government could no longer legally fund any part of the Shelby County Fire Department. That decision was based on the fact that the Fire Department covers only the residences and structures within the unincorporated areas of the county. Today there are standing mutual aid agreements in place with the incorporated areas and the City of Memphis Fire Department should additional assistance be required.

Until 2007, the residential fire fee was the same for every home in unincorporated Shelby County. In order to make the fire fee more equitable throughout the response area, a 14-tiered structure based upon square footage has been adopted. High-end digital mapping along with comprehensive square footage records from both the Shelby County Assessor's Office and the Construction Code Enforcement Department were utilized to assure accuracy in billing.

The application of specialized Fire Fees have been applied to commercial properties that present a higher level of danger and therefore consequent additional highly specialized, trained and certified personnel, along with their equipment, to potential scenes where hazardous materials are a part of the response plan during times of emergencies.

Click here for the fee schedule.