Special assessments are used by many local governments throughout Florida to assure that this essential service is adequately funded. Unlike a tax, a special assessment must be developed to recover each property’s proportionate share of the costs and can only be used to fund those services.
Hardship assistance is available for eligible residents. Extended deadline: Applications must be received on or before noon on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026.
Rate per 1 ERU (Equivalent Residential Unit): $138.55 (one ERU is the equivalent of 2,300 sq. ft. of impervious area)
Properties charged on a fixed-rate basis
Properties charged on a measured square-foot basis
It provides a dedicated and equitable funding source for the cost of providing stormwater services. Developed properties contribute stormwater runoff into the city’s stormwater system, which is comprised of a network of pipes, culverts, ditches, storm drains and detention basins designed to collect and treat stormwater runoff. It is estimated that the city will collect approximately $10,706,488 from the Stormwater Services Assessment.
Each parcel of developed property is assessed based upon the estimated amount of stormwater runoff generated by impervious and semi-impervious area on the property. Impervious area includes buildings, parking lots, driveways, patios, decks, walkways, and athletic courts. Semi-impervious area includes land surfaces that partially restrict the penetration of water, such as porous concrete and asphalt pavements, gravel, lime rock and certain compacted soils.
The amount of impervious and semi-impervious area is expressed in terms of ERUs (equivalent residential unit). One (1) ERU is defined as 2,300 square feet of impervious area. Generally, the number of ERUs for each property is calculated by dividing the impervious area by 2,300 square feet. However, certain property types are assigned a fixed rate regardless of how many square feet of impervious area they have.
If you sell your property after you have paid the assessments for the year, you will receive a prorated credit back from the buyer. This will be handled by the closing agent when the sale is closed.
No. You are not being double-charged. We are changing how these services are collected, but the dates do not overlap.
Because your tax bill starts paying for these services the exact day your GRU payments stop, every day of service is only paid for once.
We know unexpected bills can be a financial worry. If you need help paying the special assessments that appear on your November 2026 tax bill, please contact the Department of Financial Services by Sept. 30, 2026. Through the City of Gainesville’s Hardship Assistance Program, neighbors who qualify can receive a fee reduction.
For neighbors paying the November 2026 tax bill, statutory partial payments can be made to the Tax Collector from November 2026 through March 2027. This allows neighbors to spread out their special assessment payments and there is no charge per payment. More information is available by contacting the Alachua County Tax Collector.
Although this year’s deadline to register for the Alachua County Tax Collector’s installment plan has already passed, neighbors can choose to pre-pay in installments for next year’s tax bill that will be mailed in November 2027.
Payment plan information is available on the tax collector’s website. This includes early payment discounts and you can start the process for 2027 by visiting the Tax Collector website beginning in November 2026.
The annual TRIM brochure is included in the mailed TRIM notices to property owners by the Alachua County Property Appraiser.