Wednesday, March 28, 2001
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Wednesday, March 28, 2001 |
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Action delayed on impact fees By DAVE
HAMRICK
Fayette County commissioners have postponed action on an ordinance governing impact fees for fire services until their May 2 work session. The delay will provide time to be sure the city councils in Brooks, Woolsey and Tyrone are likely to approve the impact fee ordinance on schedule so that the date the ordinance becomes effective can be coordinated among all four governments. State agencies recently approved the paperwork, and the County Commission's approval of the ordinance is expected to be routine. Impact fees are charged to developers to help defray the costs of new government facilities and services made necessary by growth. If the ordinance is approved, the charge will be $600.57 for each new home. Businesses and industries will pay on a sliding scale based upon their size and type. Commissioners conducted the two required public hearings on the ordinance March 8 and March 22. Fayette's Department of Fire and Emergency Services already has begun construction of four new fire stations, and the cost of those projects will be supplemented by the impact fees. By state law, the fees can only be used to cover the portion of the cost that can be attributed to future growth. Impact fees can begin to flow into county coffers to help pay for these projects and future equipment needs by mid-May if all the involved parties approve the impact fee ordinance on schedule. Tyrone and Brooks city councils are expected to act on the ordinance at their April 4 meetings, and Woolsey's council has scheduled public hearings for April 9 and May 14. Peachtree City and Fayetteville have their own fire services and will not be involved in the impact fee. Commissioners last week decided to wait until May 2 to be sure the city councils are on track so the effective date of the ordinance doesn't have to be changed. That would require a new round of hearings. Officials are hoping to collect about $16.7 million over the 20-year life of the impact fees to help repay the debt on the fire stations and for future equipment needs. In other business last week, commissioners approved the Fire Department's request to open bids for two new fire trucks to replace older ones. That item would have been on the consent agenda for automatic approval because the equipment is budgeted for in the department's long-term modernization program, but commission Chairman Greg Dunn wanted to brag on the department and its director, Chief Jack Krakeel. "That's the kind of planning effort that pays big dividends," Dunn said of Krakeel's long-range plan. "And it makes life much easier for us when we know what's coming." Krakeel said this is the last major purchase the department will need to make before 2007.
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