Manatee County School Board votes to remove impact fee caveat

The Manatee County School Board voted unanimously to remove the contested caveat within the resolution to reinstate school impact fees. 

Without this caveat, the Manatee County School Board will still re-instate impact fees on a tiered system, starting with a 50% increase from what developers paid in 2009 and increasing by 25% each subsequent year until the payments reach 100%, doubling the amount paid in 2009. 

The caveat, which would keep the reinstated impact fees at 50% if the half-cent sales tax was renewed by Manatee County voters, has been met by fierce opposition from the community. Vice chairman Charlie Kennedy, who requested the item to be on the Tuesday, May 24 agenda, said although he originally voted with the board at the April 26 meeting to keep the caveat, he since regretted his decision. He believed voters would reject the half-cent sales tax renewal if the board kept the caveat with impact fees. 

"I worry that if we put something on the ballot with this caveat we’re doomed to failure," he said. "We’re putting voters in a position of putting one over the other."

Board member John Colon reiterated Kennedy's sentiments, saying he had talked with his constituents.

"My constituents say they won’t vote for the sales tax if we don’t remove the caveat," Colon said. 

The resolution to reinstate impact fees without the caveat will have to be approved by the Manatee County Board of Commissioners. The district voted to reinstate impact fees in November. It began collecting impact fees again in April.

"There's a saying among arborists," said board member Robert Gause. "If I have to look too long at it to decide if it's a good tree, it's probably a bad tree."