Jackson Falconer
BRADENTON – The Manatee School Board voted
on Tuesday to increase its 2017-2018 collection of impact fees for school facilities, following diverging views heard from citizens and board members. The vote was 4-1, with John Colon dissenting.
The school district’s second-year collection of impact fees, which is currently set at 75 percent of the amount recommended to the school board by independent consulting firm Tischler Bise, would increase the collection fee rate to 100 percent of Tischler's recommended amount. The change in the collection amount will now go before the Manatee County Commission, which has the final say in changes to school district impact fee policy.
School impact fees are collected from developers when new homes are built. The revenue from the fees help pay for new school facilities. The school board had a moratorium imposed on impact fees from 2009 to 2016. The district is planning to build two new schools soon to keep up with the county's fast-growing population.
Opposition to the change included Manatee-Sarasota Builders Industry Association CEO Jon Mast, who argued that the impact fee numbers in TischBise's study are inaccurate as calculations for how school sales tax revenue would be able to fund school facilities–which are the only thing that school impact fees can be used for–were not included in the study.
"We firmly believe that (the impact fee ordinance) must be updated to include the sales tax. Your consultant hasn't even been engaged to see if the study is correct with the sales tax. Should this ordinance move forward, the BIA must explore legal actions to make sure the fees are accurate to meet with the rational nexus concurrent with Florida statute," said Mast.
Meeting a so-called "dual rational nexus test" means a local government, according to Florida law, has to show a reasonable connection between the need for building new facilities and population growth, as well as the expenditures of the funds collected and the benefits to residents with newly built homes.
Prior to the vote, John Colon explained why he would not be voting in favor of the amendment. "This (impact fees) is added to the cost of the home. Permanently," he said, calling impact fees a "tax on the homeowner, not the developer. The homeowner cannot homestead his house the first year É so it’s almost like a double tax."
Colon added that he was concerned about the possibility of residential home building slowing in the county due to rising interest rates and that impact fees would also slow building down. "I understand we need to build more schools; I’m not against that -- but I don't believe increasing the impact fees right now is the way to go."
Karen Carpenter noted the school board's several-year impact fee moratorium, which she said "seems like a really bad business decision for this district." She added, "We need to move forward and get a maximum for capital needs and certainly with the dual rational nexus test."
Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene, who recommended approval of the rate increase from 75 to 100 percent, noted that there had been prior discussion about going back and reviewing TischlerBise's study. "This resolution is simply saying, whatever the number for the recommended amount is, we want to collect 100 percent," she said. Dr. Greene also said that the board would review the number, and contact Tisch for further consulting.
Comments
No comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.