June 28, 2007
By: Sid Riley
This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items that are impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope that you will read the column regularly and that it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week::
"The Impact Fee Program That The County Commissioners Are Considering Might Be The Final Act That Kills Their Cash Cow"
The bureaucracy never fails to astound me as to the never ending, clever techniques they devise in order to "suck" as much funding as possible from the public. The newest "tax fad" that they have managed to enact is the concept of "impact fees". Very quickly after the legality of this approach to funding was established, over fifty percent of Florida’s counties enacted this fee program.
However, most of these counties are located in that over populated worm bed of humanity called South Florida. Some largely urban counties in middle and northern Florida have also responded. In these areas industries, warehouses, and retail businesses must often locate there regardless of cost. They can usually not consider any other location for their business. They might need to be close to the sea ports in south Florida, the resorts, or just the throng of population.
That is not the case with Jackson County and most other panhandle North Florida counties. For industrial prospects we are usually in direct competition with neighboring Alabama and Georgia as a potential site. In order to attract any of these job creating businesses in the future, we must be cost competitive. Up front added costs in the form of "Impact Fees" would kill our chances in many instances.
The concept of impact fees is making the business or developer pay the cost of the impact their new traffic would have on our road requirements. However, if a business did decide to pay the fees and locate here, and they had to pay a huge impact fee up front, they would just add this cost to their financing cost of the project. Then they would compute their overhead cost when the business was ready to open and from this compute their product sales cost. The cost of the impact fee would be included in this product cost, so when you bought their gas or groceries or whatever the product is…….YOU WOULD BE PAYING THEIR IMPACT FEE!
Using the suggested fee structure, the 20,000 sq. ft. addition now being built at Kindel Recreation Center would have had a $11,034 per 1000 sq ft. fee which would have been $220,680.00 paid to the county before they began. I can assure you that the owner of Kindel Lanes, Jeff Kindelspire would not have built this exciting new recreation center if the fees had existed. Our youth will now have a place to come for enjoyment in a controlled, wholesome environment instead of sitting on car hoods in shopping center parking lots.
The Family Dollar plant would have had to pay the county $1,634,640 in impact fees under the proposed fee structure. I can assure you that that facility and the jobs it is providing would not be here if impact fees had existed during the time of their site search.
If they created an ordinance for the impact fees and instituted the system, the taxpayers would have no voice in the matter. It is totally up to the Commission, and this is a bad procedure. Talk to your State Representatives about this situation. Of course, if the program was to be set up, they would undoubtedly have to hire an "Impact Fee Manager", with an office, a staff, a car, eleven holidays, full retirement, full health benefits, and the rest of the bureaucratic benefits. Thus the bureaucracy would grow another notch.
The real estate market in Jackson County is currently in a state of severe depression due to soaring insurance costs and property taxes. Very few homes over $120,000 in value are being sold. Many have been on the market for over a year. The inventory of real estate and homes for sale is at an all time high. To even consider adding an impact fee into this housing situation would be inane. I hope our commissioners know better.
RUDAMENTS- ODDS AND ENDS WORTHY OF MENTION:
- Congratulations to Bill Stanton and the executives and officials that worked with him on the Old Castle plant project and the Green Circle Wood Pellet plant project. The job that Bill Stanton through the JCDC and our county and city commissioners and administrators have done in this regard has been great! They deserve the state recognition that they were just awarded.
- I deeply regret the passing of Tom Wilder III in Graceville. His presence and his work has been a blessing to our area for many, many years.
- The county is proceeding with plans for a new, shiny, costly, County Administration Building for them to live in. Meanwhile, the old Marianna High School Buildings are rotting away.
Please get involved in this impact fee issue. The time is wrong for Jackson County. Let your Commissioner know how you feel and you will be "Getting It Right!"
"The Impact Fee Program That The County Commissioners Are Considering Might Be The Final Act That Kills Their Cash Cow"
The bureaucracy never fails to astound me as to the never ending, clever techniques they devise in order to "suck" as much funding as possible from the public. The newest "tax fad" that they have managed to enact is the concept of "impact fees". Very quickly after the legality of this approach to funding was established, over fifty percent of Florida’s counties enacted this fee program.
However, most of these counties are located in that over populated worm bed of humanity called South Florida. Some largely urban counties in middle and northern Florida have also responded. In these areas industries, warehouses, and retail businesses must often locate there regardless of cost. They can usually not consider any other location for their business. They might need to be close to the sea ports in south Florida, the resorts, or just the throng of population.
That is not the case with Jackson County and most other panhandle North Florida counties. For industrial prospects we are usually in direct competition with neighboring Alabama and Georgia as a potential site. In order to attract any of these job creating businesses in the future, we must be cost competitive. Up front added costs in the form of "Impact Fees" would kill our chances in many instances.
The concept of impact fees is making the business or developer pay the cost of the impact their new traffic would have on our road requirements. However, if a business did decide to pay the fees and locate here, and they had to pay a huge impact fee up front, they would just add this cost to their financing cost of the project. Then they would compute their overhead cost when the business was ready to open and from this compute their product sales cost. The cost of the impact fee would be included in this product cost, so when you bought their gas or groceries or whatever the product is…….YOU WOULD BE PAYING THEIR IMPACT FEE!
Using the suggested fee structure, the 20,000 sq. ft. addition now being built at Kindel Recreation Center would have had a $11,034 per 1000 sq ft. fee which would have been $220,680.00 paid to the county before they began. I can assure you that the owner of Kindel Lanes, Jeff Kindelspire would not have built this exciting new recreation center if the fees had existed. Our youth will now have a place to come for enjoyment in a controlled, wholesome environment instead of sitting on car hoods in shopping center parking lots.
The Family Dollar plant would have had to pay the county $1,634,640 in impact fees under the proposed fee structure. I can assure you that that facility and the jobs it is providing would not be here if impact fees had existed during the time of their site search.
If they created an ordinance for the impact fees and instituted the system, the taxpayers would have no voice in the matter. It is totally up to the Commission, and this is a bad procedure. Talk to your State Representatives about this situation. Of course, if the program was to be set up, they would undoubtedly have to hire an "Impact Fee Manager", with an office, a staff, a car, eleven holidays, full retirement, full health benefits, and the rest of the bureaucratic benefits. Thus the bureaucracy would grow another notch.
The real estate market in Jackson County is currently in a state of severe depression due to soaring insurance costs and property taxes. Very few homes over $120,000 in value are being sold. Many have been on the market for over a year. The inventory of real estate and homes for sale is at an all time high. To even consider adding an impact fee into this housing situation would be inane. I hope our commissioners know better.
RUDAMENTS- ODDS AND ENDS WORTHY OF MENTION:
- Congratulations to Bill Stanton and the executives and officials that worked with him on the Old Castle plant project and the Green Circle Wood Pellet plant project. The job that Bill Stanton through the JCDC and our county and city commissioners and administrators have done in this regard has been great! They deserve the state recognition that they were just awarded.
- I deeply regret the passing of Tom Wilder III in Graceville. His presence and his work has been a blessing to our area for many, many years.
- The county is proceeding with plans for a new, shiny, costly, County Administration Building for them to live in. Meanwhile, the old Marianna High School Buildings are rotting away.
Please get involved in this impact fee issue. The time is wrong for Jackson County. Let your Commissioner know how you feel and you will be "Getting It Right!"
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