West Palm Beach Threatening to Close Storm Drains From Schools Over Fees Owed

Apparently the Palm Beach County School district owes the City of West Palm Beach a crapload of money. More than $200,000, in fact. The money owed is from a year's worth of storm drain fees (which really worked to PERFECTION during Tropical Storm Andrea), and now city officials are saying...

By Chris Joseph

June 18, 2013

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Apparently the Palm Beach County School district owes the City of West Palm Beach a crapload of money. More than $200,000, in fact.

The money owed is from a year's worth of storm drain fees (which really worked to PERFECTION during Tropical Storm Andrea), and now city officials are saying if the district doesn't pony up, they're going to disconnect the drains from at least nine schools in West Palm Beach.

Fun!

For its part, the school district is saying it doesn't need to pay back any fee.

In April of last year, a judge gave school districts "sovereign immunity" from having to pay storm-water fees, thanks to a state appeals court ruling. Since that time, the school district has stopped paying the city.

But that isn't stopping the city from imposing a July 1 deadline on the district to pay the owed money and threatening to close off drains in a handful of schools.

The district, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit on Friday to prevent that from happening.

No hearing for the suit has yet been set, but we're sure it'll all end smoothly and well because that's just how these things go.

Ha. Ha. Just kidding. It's gonna be a royal friggin' mess.

Meanwhile, come August and we're in the heart of hurricane season, you're going to have to buy your children scuba gear along with all their other back-to-school items.

Or at least a floatie for each arm.

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