Six weeks ago I got a letter from the city informing me of a new "drainage
fee" and assessing me $190/year for the "impermeable" surface on my
property.

Their thinking went, presumably, that this impermeable surface meant
rainfall ran off to the street where is was processed by the storm-sewer
system. This new fee is meant to add funds to the storm-sewer creation and
maintenance function of the city's government.

There are exceptions: One of which is if the property is served by an open
drainage ditch.

So, I go to the city's site for registering a protest. Ah ha, there is an
aerial view (Google Earth) of my property overlaid by some bit of software
that drew little rectangles over the "impermeable" areas (driveway,
sidewalks, out-buildings, dog just standing in the yard, etc.). This bit of
software evidently adds up the area comprising all the rectangles to achieve
a total square footage and assesses a fee of three cents per square-foot per
year.

Well, **** this nonsense. I protested the assessment allowing as how my
property is served by a drainage ditch to the rear that easily handles half
of the rainfall. (Man, the ditch is twenty feet deep and fifty feet wide -
it's more like a canal than a ditch.) I further opined that, since it hasn't
rained here since January, it seems a little disingenuous to be imposing a
DRAINAGE fee.

Anyway, the city just sent me an email saying my reasoning is flawed, the
original assessment stands, and I smell funny.

I'm gonna appeal.

Anyway, heads up. This silliness will spread, you mark my words, to your
town, too. Start thinking about camouflage paint for your garage and
outbuildings' roofs.