Denton leaders have ditched a proposal to raise the city’s drainage fee by 10 percent and use the proceeds to buy properties in flood-prone areas.

Officials suggested the plan last week to help protect residents from flooding following an April 24 deluge, but it faced opposition from the Denton Public Utilities Board. The City Council was expected to discuss the plan this afternoon.

“We didn’t have the support of the board for the drainage fee in­crease, and they make recommendations back to the council,” said Jim Coulter, city water utilities director. So “we’re not recommending the fee increase to the council.”

Instead, Coulter said he would advocate a renewed push to encourage owners of property in flood-sensitive zones to buy insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. No council vote is expected today on the plan.

Critics said the proposal wouldn’t address the core problem: inadequate drainage.

“I’m pleased they’ve dropped that [original] plan, but they need some plan,” said Cindy Brazzel, who lives on Craig Lane, where 22 homes flooded during heavy rains April 24. “Yeah, everybody should have flood insurance; no duh. That’s not fixing the problem.”

More than 150 homes and businesses flooded April 24 when portions of Denton saw a 100-year flood, officials have said. Such a storm has only a 1 percent chance of happening in a given year.

Drainage improvements to protect the city from a 100-year flood could cost more than $200 million, Coulter said last week, but buying all properties that flooded April 24 would cost only about $12 million.

A 10 percent drainage fee increase would have generated up to $375,000 a year, allowing the city to buy homes and businesses in the flood plain and move or destroy them, officials said. Residents and businesses pay the drainage fee as part of their monthly utility bill, and proceeds fund drainage system improvements.

The buyout program would have been voluntary, but some property owners said they worried it could lead to involuntary property grabs.

Mayor Perry McNeill said he wants city staff members to present information on flood-prevention measures, including bigger drainage ditches and new detention ponds.

Council members have discussed improving the downtown drainage system to free up more land for development, but McNeill said protecting homes across the city is also a concern.

To pay for improvements, the council still could decide to increase the drainage fee, or include the projects in a future bond package, McNeill said.

“I think we need to look at all of the options,” he said. “It’s a very, very expensive proposition to correct the problem. This is not small change.”

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com