Impact fees advertised now
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Without question or comment from the public or commissioners, the Bradford County Commission approved a resolution Tuesday proposing the amounts for its fire assessment fee.
After years of debate, there may be little left to say, although the resolution also sets the date of the final public hearing and vote — Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m. Before then, every impacted property owner will be notified by mail of the hearing and the amount they will be assessed.
For each residential dwelling unit, the proposed assessment is $167. Nonresidential, primarily commercial, properties would be assessed at 11 cents per square foot. Owners of vacant parcels would pay $46.50 per parcel. Like the solid waste special assessment, the fire assessment will appear on property tax bills and be paid annually. The fees may be increased from year to year, but by no more than 4%.
Churches and nonprofits would be exempt from paying the assessment, as would fully disabled veterans and those living at or below the poverty threshold. Property owners would need to apply for those exemptions. There will also be a process for disputing the amount charged if property owners believe there has been an error.
Revenue from the assessment is estimated to raise around $1.68 million, approximately 50% of the fire department’s budget. Starke has its own fire department and has opted out of participating. Property owners in the remaining cities will be charged if the final resolution is approved in August.
Impact fees
Before the final vote on the fire assessment, county commissioners will vote on whether to bring back impact fees.
Impact fees are paid on new construction at the time a building permit is issued, and the revenue is restricted to paying for new costs that are the consequence of growth. The county had impact fees in place until the 2008 housing market crash, which led to a moratorium.
Although the fees have been discussed, there has been no action taken to replace the old fees until now, with commissioners realizing the revenue they’ve missed from housing and commercial development in recent years.
While past impact fees covered a few areas, these are focused on creating revenue for fire protection, law enforcement and emergency medical services.
The residential fees proposed are $498 per dwelling unit for fire protection, $304 for law enforcement and $258 for emergency medical services, for a total of $1,060 per new dwelling unit.
The nonresidential fees proposed are $194 per 1,000 square feet for fire protection, $119 for law enforcement and $101 for emergency medical services, for a total of $404 per 1,000 square feet of new nonresidential construction.
An additional 2% would be charged to cover the cost of administration and collection.
The ordinance will be presented at the July 17 county commission meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m.
