Johns Creek property owners dealing with flooding, erosion or silted-up ponds could soon get help from two city-funded programs totaling $1 million.

City staff proposed spending $500,000 each on a stormwater grant program and a new pond-dredging assistance program during the Aug. 24 budget work session, the third and final session before the City Council finalizes the $83 million fiscal year 2027 budget. Appen Media reported the program details Aug. 31.

The grant program is not new. It launched as a $422,000 pilot last year, open to single-family homeowners, HOAs, businesses and nonprofits such as churches.

The pilot funded rain gardens, cisterns, dry wells, downspout disconnects and streambank erosion repairs, among other improvements. Applicants had to identify a stormwater problem and match city funds. City staff and contractors visited each site, checked permit needs and scored projects on a points-based rubric, awarding funds to the highest-scoring proposals.

The proposed $500,000 would continue that program for FY2027.

The second $500,000 would launch a brand-new dredging assistance program aimed at stormwater collection ponds. Specific eligibility rules for the dredging program have not been finalized.

Council Member Chris Coughlin said he supports both programs but wants clearer standards before committing dollars.

"We need to use our finite dollars to prioritize projects," Coughlin said at the Aug. 24 session.

Coughlin said he is still working through minimum requirements for applicants and how preventive versus reactive each program should be.

Mayor John Bradberry said the programs matter because stormwater problems rarely stop at one property line. Some neighborhoods receive runoff from adjacent areas because of geography, and streambank damage can stretch far up and down a channel. Bradberry said solving those problems is "incredibly difficult for an individual property owner."

The Aug. 24 session was the council's final budget work session. A date for the formal FY2027 budget adoption vote has not been posted. Residents can check the city's public calendar for the next regular council meeting.