Impact fees back on Manatee County School Board agenda

Once again, the Manatee County School Board will consider removing a controversial caveat from the impact fee collection schedule in an effort to gain support for an upcoming half-cent sales tax renewal.

Board vice-chair Charlie Kennedy asked for a motion to be added to Tuesday’s board agenda after a lot of careful consideration, he said. An attempt to remove the caveat, initiated by board member Dave Miner, failed in April. After the April vote, Kennedy said public comment at a joint meeting with county commissioners and personal conversations he’s had made him reconsider.

“We just had that constant voice that the sales tax will fail with this caveat attached. That public comment was kind of an eye opener for me,” he said. “I asked if we could bring it back up and we are.”

In November, the school board voted unanimously on a resolution asking the county commission to reinstate the collection of school-specific impact fees.

School impact fees were suspended in 2009. Impact fees are levied on newly constructed homes in the county. Impact fees can only be used to build in relation to growth. The district can build new schools or new additions with impact fees, but cannot use impact fees to renovate existing buildings or other maintenance projects.

Superintendent Diana Greene recommended the board re-implement impact fees on a three-year schedule. She recommended the district collect 50 percent of the maximum allowable rate the first year, 75 percent the second year and the full 100 percent the third year.

In November, the school board decided to adopt Greene’s plan but added a caveat, stating if voters approved extending a half-cent sales tax in November, the collection rate of impact fees would drop down to 50 percent.

The move caused immediate outcry in the community, with many describing the caveat as a deal for developers. Some, including county commissioners Charles Smith and Robin DiSabatino, have both said they cannot support the sales tax referendum if the caveat stays in place.

April was the first time the board formally revisited the issue, with Miner the only vote cast to remove the caveat. Kennedy and the three other board members agreed to keep the caveat in place.

But now, Kennedy said, there may be more support for Miner’s position.

“It was just a culmination of the weight of all this public comment and personal conversations I’ve had with people,” Kennedy said. “I want to make one more push.”

Miner said he was eager to hear the discussion on Tuesday.

“I hope that we’ll reflect on it positively this time,” he said. “I think everyone has come to realize we need to drop this proviso, this caveat.”

Although the school board seems in agreement to ask voters to renew the half-cent sales tax, the board has not formally voted to put the resolution on the ballot this year. County commissioners are also considering asking voters for a half-cent sales tax to benefit the county, but also have not yet voted to put the resolution on the November ballot.

The two entities are considering whether it’s better to put a joint resolution on the ballot or to ask voters separately.

The reinstated impact fees began being collected in April.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Impact fees back on Manatee County School Board agenda."