Friday, June 15,
2001
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City eyes new fees to keep up with growth By JOHN
THOMPSON
Fairburn may soon join the ranks of cities using impact fees to help fund their growth. During Monday night's Fairburn City Council workshop, City Administrator Tony Cox explained that impact fees could be used only for items dictated by growth. The fees are charged to developers to defray the cost of new services and facilities made necessary by growth. The first project on Cox's wish list is a second fire station. The station would serve all the projects springing up south of Ga. Highway 74 and is quickly going to become a necessity, Cox said. Other projects included the widening of V.B. Smith Road, additional park land, and eventually a new building for City Hall. Impact fees require city officials maintaining a detailed accounting of how the funds are spent, so the city needs to be careful in picking projects, Cox said. "We need to pick projects that we're going to do in five years," he said. Mayor Betty Hannah said she is in favor of impact fees and Councilman Glenn Higgins said something must be done to improve the infrastructure for the growth. "It's either raise taxes or impose impact fees," he said. Cox said he would work out the details of an impact fee ordinance with his staff and bring a report back to the council later this summer.
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