Manatee County commissioners approve impact fee increase

After more than four hours of back-and-forth discussions with local developers and the public, Manatee County commissioners voted to increase impact fees starting with a hike in 2016 that should generate approximately 14% higher revenues.

That raise in fees was about 80% of the amount recommended by an independent consultant. Commissioners voted 5-2 at Thursday's Land Use meeting to raise the fees 80% of the consultant's recommendation in 2016, 90% of that recommendation in 2017 and 100% in 2018.

Impact fees are one-time fees on new development that impacts county services, such as public safety, law enforcement and roads.

District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh and Chairwoman Betsy Benac voted against the increases, because they thought the commission should wait to decide on those numbers until after the newly-appointed finance committee has given its report in May.

"We've got to come up with other revenue sources," Baugh said. "Automatically setting those two higher amounts is putting us in a corner."

District 1 Commissioner Larry Bustle, who made the motion for the increases, wouldn't consider dropping the latter two phases of increases, despite Baugh's requests.

"We're heading for a fiscal cliff, and we need to do this," Bustle said.

Currently, a single family, two-bedroom detached home has an impact fee of $5,154.18, a three-bedroom home has an impact fee of $6,249.19 and a four-bedroom-plus home has an impact fee of $7,773.47.

Coming out of the impact fees will be a new category, libraries. In the past, the cost of building libraries has not been partially funded by impact fees. 

The Manatee County Planning Commission will review a proposal from the Manatee County School District to impose a new schools impact fee schedule on Dec. 10. County Commissioners will consider that plan at the Land Use meeting on Jan. 7.