While I am supportive of reimplementing school impact fees in Carroll County….we should discuss the real concerns with what was discussed on July 27th in open session.
Here are some thing I touch on in the video below:
- New construction slowing in our region and county…that will have an impact on the amount of funding this fee will provide to the county.
- The $3,000 seemed to be picked out of the air with no real analysis conducted.
- If we can’t use the funds on the current projects on the books for CCPS…what is the future plan for this money?
- And finally…what was the rush to pass this on July 27th? Why not take a little more time to work through some of these questions (and other questions out there about school impact fees in the county).
Watch the video below:
What are your thoughts…let me know in the comments here or on social media.
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Update: Here is the press release from Carroll County Government on July 28th:
Commissioners Approve School Impact Fee for September 1st
Westminster, MD, July 28, 2023 – Yesterday in Open Session, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners approved setting the FY2024 School Impact Fee at $3,000 per new single-family residence. The new fee will begin on September 1, 2023.
Impact fees are payments charged by local governments to new development for the purpose of providing new or expanded public capital facilities required as a result of the impact of development. To offset the burden that new development creates on schools, Carroll County has the authority to charge home developers a school impact fee when they file a residential building permit application. The money collected for the school impact fee can only be used to build new schools or additions to existing schools to increase capacity.
Prior to 2012, the county school impact fees were:
Single family $6,303
Townhouse $7,006
Multi-family $2,257
Mobile home $3,061
In 2012, due to declining enrollment and a resulting lack of need for more capacity in schools, the Board of Commissioners set the school impact fee at zero. As of September 1, 2023, the impact fees for single family will be $3,000. The other three categories are yet to be calculated, but the relationships will be comparable to the fees noted above.
Open session meetings are available for viewing on the county meeting portal and the county YouTube channel. In addition, all meetings will be replayed on Comcast Channel 24.
