Augusta’s collection rate for the new stormwater utility fee continued to rise in the second quarter, with the city collecting almost 85 percent or $3 million of the $3.5 million it billed, City Engineering Director Abie Ladson said. “Collections are steadily going up,” Ladson said, after monthly collections lagged at less than $2 million in the first quarter. Mayor Hardie Davis said the rate of collections was encouraging. read more