The Fulton County Commission is considering a proposal to implement impact fees to help pay for new parks in the county.

Impact fees are charged to developers to help pay the costs of new government facilities and services associated with growth.

The commissioners heard an overview of the proposal at last week's meeting and Angela Parker said the proposal is only in its beginning stages.

Parker, who heads up the county's Department of Community Affairs said the commission had passed a resolution back in 1998 to study an impact fee for parks.

The county already charges an impact fee for plant expansion, but Parker said this proposed fee would not only cover parks, but also police, fire, a jail and a library.

No figures have been established yet and Parker said it would be at least 2002 before any fees are enacted. The county's consulting firm, WFR and Associates, will issue a report on the proposal in 2002 after studying all sides of the issue.

"We'll be getting a lot of public input on this," Parker said.

The report will have to identify the county's high growth areas, identify the specific projects the fee would cover and provide a fee schedule for businesses and residences, she said.

Impact fees were recently passed in Fayette County to pay for a new jail and improve county fire services, but the debate was heated among the various municipalities.

Parker hopes the amount of public comment on the procedure will lead to a consenus on whether to start the program.