Impact fees vital to Manatee County’s prosperity

It isn’t complicated. The developers hate impact fees and don’t want to pay them. They want the infrastructure that is required for their developments, but they don’t want to pay for it.

They think we, the taxpayers, should pay for it instead. That is why they are so willing to donate tens of thousands of dollars to promote approval of the school and county sales tax referendums.

They know that the puppets they have helped get elected to the Board of County Commissioners and School Board will discount or suspend impact fees and use sales tax revenue to pay for that infrastructure the developers demand but are unwilling to pay for.

Not only that. They tell their contractors, sub-contractors, and the public in general that impact fees are “taxes” that will add to the cost of new houses resulting in lower sales and lost jobs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Impact fees are not taxes; they are user fees that benefit only those who purchase new homes. Impact fees pay for new schools, new fire stations, new roads, and much more new infrastructure that is required ONLY because of new development.

Impact fees are investments in the community that buyers pay for when they purchase a new home. Those fees become part of the “cost basis” of a new home. It is not “lost” money. When the original buyer eventually sells the house, the total investment including impact fees is recouped.

The Brookings Institution states that impact fees improve the economy and create jobs. Communities that collect full impact fees prosper more in the long run, according Brookings. Tax money not diverted to cover developer-required infrastructure is invested in the community, thus creating more jobs. The bottom line: Impact fees are great for our economy.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Impact fees vital to Manatee County’s prosperity."