Guest column | Impact fee proposal is a bad deal for Manatee County taxpayers
Guest column | Impact fee proposal is a bad deal for Manatee County taxpayers
Board of County Commissioners holding first of two public hearings on Thursday.
By Ginger McCallum / Special to The Bradenton Journal
After reading George Kruse's blog post today I did some digging on impact fees. Here’s the situation:
The Board of County Commissioners is having the first of two public hearings on Thursday June 6, on raising impact fees. Impact fees are charged to developers for the impact on infrastructure of new construction. Developers are currently being charged only 90% of what the costs were calculated to be in 2015. The good news is that the county conducted a study on impact fees in 2023 and again in 2024 and the current costs have been updated. The bad news is that in February, Commissioners tasked staff with identifying a plan to update/increase the fees, but not more than 50% of the current rates, and they must be phased in over four years per a 2021 state law.
It’s a bad deal for existing taxpayers. Here’s an example why. The newly calculated impact fee for a new single-family home of 1,701 square feet or more is $26,675. The current, outdated fee being charged is $12,542. The cap the commissioners have ordered is $18,637 ($12,542 plus 50%). And the county can’t charge that right away. It must be phased on over 4 years.
Who’s paying the difference of the impact on our infrastructure of new construction? Existing residents/taxpayers are paying the difference. So, when the “full” increase is reached in 2028, it will still be thousands less than the true cost of new construction on our infrastructure. Who knows what the true impact/cost will be in 2028? This is just one example. There are various categories of development, in addition to various sizes of single family homes, including multi-family, light industrial and commercial/shopping center, and each have different fees.
This Thursday the Board of County Commissioners will be having the first of two public hearings to finalize increase in impact fees. As noted above, these fees have been under-collected for years, and the difficulties we have with roads, parks and schools are a direct result of this. In the future, the potential for higher taxes to fully fund those needs because they are not covered by impact fees could become a reality.
Let the board know how you feel about this and ask them to raise the rates to the highest possible levels allowed by Florida law. You can do so electronically, or you can attend the meeting Thursday morning and comment in person.
How to reach the Commissioners:
· Call or text or email each county commissioner – there is no deadline to do this
· Comment during citizen comments at the Thursday, June 6 Land Use Meeting. Meeting Agenda
The May 30 Planning Commission meeting is a good source for all the information. Click here to watch
The Bradenton Journal invites submission of guest columns about government and public policy issues in Manatee County. To submit or to ask questions about a possible submission, email marc.r.masferrer@gmail.com
Impact fees were the #1 concern of two developers when I was a candidate. I remember them screaming at me, “DON’T RAISE IMPACT FEES!” I’m sure the current commissioners have been through that same conditioning.