The Storm Water Program Needs Analysis is the first step toward developing the Business Plan that is the necessary foundation for a successful storm water utility program implementation. The primary benefit for having a storm water needs analysis for any Community is to provide staff with a better understanding of what current storm water level of service the community is providing and at what cost to the community. Furthermore, staff typically need evidence and support documentation from an experienced outside source to show the elected officials the need for the dedicated funding source, the storm water utility program and what level of burden the general fund was supporting. Nearly 100% of communities that ERC talks to about the concept of a storm water program Needs Analysis agree that this type of inexpensive approach makes sense for their community. The community can invest a relatively small amount of funds to receive enough useful information through the Needs Analysis process to allow the Elected Officials to make a "go" or "no go" decision on proceeding with creating and implementing a storm water utility program. In addition, the community staff will receive a useful study that organizes and provides an inventory all of the storm water activities which can be used internally by staff from that point forward, whether the elected officials decide to proceed or not.