Manatee County Commission looks at impact fees that could soar

MANATEE -- Should the Manatee County Commission and Manatee County School Board each raise and reinstate impact fees to the amounts recommended by a consultant's study, Manatee County could quickly go from one of the counties on the Gulf Coast with the lowest fees to a county with some of the highest.

That gave some commissioners pause Tuesday as they discussed the impact fee study, which was conducted by TischlerBise, consultants hired by the county commission and the Manatee County School District. The commission took no action Tuesday but are set to on Dec. 3.

County staff presented the commission with slides showing how Manatee County's current impact fees compare with other counties on the Gulf Coast and where the proposed fees would place Manatee County.

For a new single-family, detached 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home, the maximum fee Manatee County levies is $11,846, which places the county on the lower spectrum.

But if the county approves the increase recommended by the consultant, Manatee County could become one of the counties with the highest fee amount, at a maximum of $22,167, which would include school impact fees.

In retail, general office and light industrial, Manatee County also would go from the lower end to a county with some of the highest fees.

"In general, they are going up a substantial amount," Deputy County Administrator Dan Schlandt said Tuesday. "We are moving well off to the right side or higher side."

County Administrator Ed Hunzeker recommended commissioners not raise the impact fees at this time to the full amount recommended in the study.

"You need to have a little bit of wiggle room," Hunzeker said.

On Tuesday, commissioners threw around different increase levels, including a gradual increase over a period of time.

If the commission adopts at 90 percent of the study amount, which would be equal to a 29 percent increase over current rates, it would generate an additional $4.2 million a year. Adopting it at the full recommendation would generate an additional $6.2 million per year.

At the rates collected today, impact fees generate $14.5 million a year, according to Hunzeker.

If the commission goes below 90 percent, the revenue generated would not be enough to cover debt service payments and other associated costs for the 44th Avenue extension project, a representative from TischlerBise said Tuesday.

Hunzeker said there is a big demand for infrastructure, and the additional revenue from impact fees would help to cover those demands.

"We need a lot of infrastructure," he said, adding that they also have to be sensitive on how this will affect the marketplace. "We are not in isolation. We have to look at surrounding counties, surrounding communities. We want to remain competitive. We want to stimulate job growth."

But some commissioners voiced concerns with potentially going from one of the least expensive counties in terms of impact fees to one of the more expensive ones.

"How are we going to be competitive in our area with the surrounding counties that we compete with every day?" Commissioner Vanessa Baugh asked. "That is just the concern being the third-highest in the surrounding area concerns me because of economic development.

"With everything, the county, staff and commission are looking at, I'm very concerned about raising impact fees this high to be the third-highest county in the area," she added. "I really need a lot more information than what I've received so far."

While impact fees can only be used to address new growth, Baugh brought up the lack of revenue sources for issues such as the more than $1 billion worth of repairs needed on existing roads.

"Impact fees are not our salvation," Baugh said. "It's not going to save us. We need to look at other alternatives for transportation."

Commissioner Carol Whitmore said they are on the commission to make the hard decisions.

"We've got to be fair for the citizens," Whitmore said. "I understand it is going to hurt the development community. It's going to hurt the builders. ... This could affect economic development, but until we get our act together with other revenue sources we are kind of in a pickle here. We've got to look at other revenue sources."

Manatee County resident Ed Goff told the commission that it would be "unwise" to charge anything less than 100 percent of what commissioners are recommending.

"The impact fees have been too low for too long," Goff said.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Manatee County Commission looks at impact fees that could soar ."