Every three years, the county can consider raising the fees to match growth and new school costs. The new home fee now is $1,694.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published May 13, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - A lot has happened in three years.
The cost of building a new school has creeped up a couple of million dollars.
The price of vacant land in Pasco County has gone from $15,000 to $50,000 an acre, in some areas.
And the number of new housing starts has reached an all-time high.
That's why officials are considering a new study to determine whether to raise the school impact fee, created three years ago to help pay for new schools.
"The cost of doing business is going up, and we're obligated to at least do the studies and see how we stand on impact fees," said Ray Gadd, the assistant to the school superintendent for special projects.
The current school impact fee is $1,694, charged to every new home in Pasco County. That's much higher than the $196-per-home fee in Hillsborough County - but then again, a consultant just suggested Hillsborough hike its fee to $5,285.
The Pasco County school impact fee ordinance, adopted in February 2001, allows officials to revisit the fee every three years. The County Commission will decide whether to pursue such a study at its May 25 meeting.
It would be a joint effort between county government, which sets and collects the fees, and the School Board, which uses them to build or expand schools.
"Since we've adopted the impact fee, we've probably collected $22-million to $25-million over a three-year period," County Attorney Robert Sumner said. "That's enough to build two elementary schools or one high school.
"It's clearly not funding the growth in the school population," he said.
The Council of Neighborhood Associations, or CONA, sent an April 27 letter to county and school officials, urging them to revisit the school impact fee. The group also asked the county to create another impact fee for public safety equipment, and to revisit the fees that pay for parks and libraries.
"I think it's something they should always look at," said Larry McLaughlin, president of CONA-east.
"Certainly the residents who live here ... should contribute to certain costs," through property taxes, McLaughlin said. "There are those that growth should pay for (through impact fees), and there should be a fair balance."
Why didn't officials do this before proposing the Penny for Pasco, the sales tax hike approved in March to pay for schools and county projects?
Gadd pointed to economic and practical reasons.
He said the two funding sources address different problems.
Impact fees pay for the growth brought by new homes.
The sales tax will help pay for the growth from existing homes that were originally built for retirees, but are now filling with young families.
"Even if we had adjusted impact fees prior to the Penny (for Pasco), we would have been in a shortfall position in terms of building schools over the next 10 years," Gadd said.
But adjusting the impact fee couldn't happen any sooner. Under the ordinance, the school impact fee could not be reviewed until at least three years had passed.
Although the ordinance was approved in February 2001, two months passed before the county and the school system signed an interlocal agreement on how to collect the fees, Gadd said.
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
