COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene will hold off collecting one of its fees until it's sure it has the legal authority to charge it, the attorney's office said Wednesday.

The decision, agreed to unanimously by the City Council Tuesday night, stems from a Nov. 7 Idaho Supreme Court ruling that deemed the city of Lewiston's stormwater utility fee was an illegal "tax" and struck it down.

Because Coeur d'Alene's fee structure is similar to Lewiston's, the city's legal team wants to re-examine its Stormwater Utility ordinance to determine if it still can be charged in light of the ruling, said Mike Gridley, city attorney.

"We're looking at that to see if ours is different enough, or do we need to make changes," Gridley said.

Coeur d'Alene's ordinance was created in 2004. It charges around $4 per month per residential household and is expected to raise $1.3 million in fiscal year 2012. It raised nearly identical amounts in 2011 and 2010.

If the fee is taken off the books, Gridley said the city likely wouldn't be required to rebate any of the residents or businesses for past payments.

The fee was implemented after the recommendation of a community steering committee for the regular, systematic upkeep and repair of city stormwater systems that connect underground to Lake Coeur d'Alene or the Spokane River.

The fee was also implemented in response to The Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended in 1987, that requires stormwater discharges to surface waters comply with a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

That permit mandate outlines how communities must work together to keep pollutants out of the environment, according to a press release issued by the city.

The slogan at the time around Coeur d'Alene was 'Save the Lake.'

But the case out of Lewiston ruled that the fee was to be used to generate funds for the nonregulatory function of repairing, maintaining and expanding a pre-existing stormwater system.

It called it "an unauthorized tax intended to free up the city's general revenues," according to the ruling.

"It is for the Idaho Legislature to authorize such a tax," it states.

Cities can charge fees for services, like water, because people opt to buy the service, and can always opt out.

Fees for stormwater maintenance may be viewed differently because one could argue that they aren't receiving a service for their money, Gridley pointed out, so they shouldn't be charged.

"The court has given us guidance," Gridley said. "We want to err on the side of caution, so we're not going to collect the fee anymore."

The City Council made the decision after it met in executive session following Tuesday's meeting. It reconvened after the session and voted for the suspension.

Gridley said he expects to have a determination by the end of the year.