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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nEvery five years, the Polk County Commission reviews a long list of fees that help fund a variety of services, such as parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet even at a time of rapid growth, the county hasn’t, in two decades, touched a land-development fee that’s paid by developers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s because those fees, intended to pay for site plan reviews, inspections and traffic studies, are ultimately factored into the price of a home, developers say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result of that stagnated fee, the county hasn’t been able to keep up and has had to dip into its general fund to pay for growth, spreading the cost to all taxpayers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, county management proposed drastic increases \u2014 by more than 700% in some cases \u2014 to its 32 land development user fees to generate an extra $3.9 million in revenue. The suggestion came after a third-party consultant reviewed the fees and offered a recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But again, the suggestion didn\u2019t immediately pass the commission without questions and concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some wonder: Is it a good time to make homes more expensive at the tail end of a global pandemic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, housing inventory is low, prices are high and buyers are everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of my concerns is that the homeowners are gonna have to pay this,\u201d Commissioner Martha Santiago said. \u201cAnd we already have a problem with affordable housing; this is not helping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commissioner George Lindsey, who serves as president of Lindsey Realty & Development Corp., said the increased fees proposed by the county would raise the cost of a home by \u201cseveral thousand dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a lengthy discussion at the public agenda review meeting Friday, commissioners determined that they weren\u2019t ready to vote on this matter at their regular meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes back, the commission can choose to bite off the entire increase at once, phase it in over the course of several years or leave the fees the same and continue dipping into the general fund to pay for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The county’s land-development service costs roughly $5.4 million to operate, but the county receives $1.1 million in revenue through the fees, according to the county. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What changes are being proposed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All told, the county has more than 55 “user” fees spread over 13 categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One commission member said he doesn’t understand why fees paid by developers for growth are woven into the same category as user fees paid by residents who wish to reserve a ballpark or picnic pavilion at their nearest park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s a stretch to call some of these user fees,” Commissioner Neil Combee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of their name, the fees are up for review every five years, which explains why they\u2019re back before the commission now. Since the land-development fees have sat stagnant the longest, the majority of the county\u2019s recommendations Friday focused on bringing them up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked specifically how the proposed fee increases would impact the cost of a $250,000 home, county spokeswoman Mianne Nelson said that couldn\u2019t be determined because there are so many fees, and not all of them apply to every project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She provided The Ledger with a document that breaks down each user fee, along with the change being proposed by county administrators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some examples include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 On the land development side, some fees would increase from $400 to $3,500 for a non-residential site inspection for structures between 5,001 and 3,000 square feet to $3,500, a 775% increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The fee for a final residential site inspection would increase from $380 to $2,100, a 452% increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The county opted not to raise these fees in 2011 and 2016 because of the Great Recession. But some commissioners said they feel like the timing isn’t right now either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Bill Braswell joked that raising the fees now is like saying, “Everything is fine, let’s stick it to them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Friday, the County Commission also suggested raising other fees and adding new ones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Under the park user fee, residents currently pay $25 per hour to rent a ballfield and $20 per hour to rent a picnic pavilion. County staff is proposing residents pay $30 per hour for a ballfield and $25 per hour for picnics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Some new fees have also been proposed. Under a new category called communication, PGTV, which broadcasts County Commission meetings, would pay $60 per hour to livestream an event or $575 to broadcast a program in the county\u2019s studio. This change would bring an extra $16,780 in revenue to the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are supposed to base (these) fees on what our costs are,” said Todd Bond, the county’s deputy manager. “The question is: Do we charge the full amount of the cost or do we subsidize the cost with taxes? How much does it make sense to charge for it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Too many fees?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the meeting Friday, commissioners suggested that these fees be revised every three years instead of every five years so the proposed changes won\u2019t be as drastic in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n County staff were also asked to determine whether some of the user fees are truly needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to go back and look at the efficiencies of this process,\u201d County Manager Bill Beasley said after the meeting Friday. \u201cAre all of these fees needed? We will certainly look at fees that don\u2019t have any value to the citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fees are supposed to cover the cost of inspections, site plan reviews, and traffic studies. But after 20 years of remaining flat, the county isn’t able to keep up. 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