To make a sales tax hike for roads an easier sell to the public in 2019, Volusia County leaders were told by city and business leaders last month to do something they haven't done in 15 years: Ask more from developers for new growth.
County Council members took the first step toward changing its impact fees when they voted Tuesday to have a consultant study the current rates, which have been in place since 2003. The report from Texas-based Duncan Associates could also take up to 190 days to complete, which could further delay when a sales tax ultimately winds up on a ballot.
Even it the question doesn't go before voters until 2020, "doing nothing (with impact fees) is not an option," said Council Vice Chair Deb Denys.
Denys suggested forming an advisory committee of nine residents to determine what the updated fees should be and bring a recommendation back to the council, but that was dismissed by the majority of her peers.
"I'm not real big on the committee idea," Councilwoman Heather Post said. "When committees are created it sort of prolongs the process. I think we might be able to make these decisions with transparency to the public without appointing committees and lagging."
Tuesday's impact fee dialogue was the second they've had this year. In March, after a shorter, less-detailed presentation, the council opted to hold the line on rates — meaning that a developer of a two-bedroom home will continue to pay the same in impact fees as the developer of a beachfront mansion. Many other counties, including Seminole, St. Johns, Lake and Orange, charging different rates depending on house size. Many counties have also adjusted their fees since the Great Recession.
With city and county leaders gearing up to ask the public to support paying more in a sales tax to improve roads, stormwater and flood control — they had planned to put it on the ballot in November — some residents found it unfair that developers, which contribute to traffic snarls and roadway congestion by plopping down new shopping centers and multi-home subdivisions, haven't been asked to pay more.
A principal with Duncan Associates — which has performed similar studies in Florida's Polk and Lee counties — told The News-Journal in April that Volusia was an "outlier" for going so long without an impact fee hike.
Councilwoman Billie Wheeler said commissioning a study on how to best do that makes the most sense. In 2007, a study conducted by Tindale-Oliver suggested drastic changes to the fees that are paid by developers to offset the cost of nearby roads, parks and other services they impact. That study suggested hikes up to 300 percent in some categories.
Wheeler doesn't know if she's willing to bite off that large of a chunk at once, but agrees that it needs to be looked at again without a committee.
"We need to do a study on it," Wheeler said.
Councilwoman Joyce Cusack shared concerns about timing. When city leaders asked the county to address impact fees, the hope was that it could be sorted out in time so that a sales tax can appear on a 2019 ballot as part of a special election, which could cost up to $800,000. But it could take the county six months to get the results of the study back. And then the council has to deliberate about what the study shows and suggests.
"This will take some time," Cusack said. "So when do we want to have on the ballot the sales tax issue? It won't be in 2018. If we go with (a study), you're probably talking 2020."
Denys preferred taking time on an issue that's likely to stir opposition between developers, who are against impact fees and could file litigation if they feel rates aren't fair, and longtime residents, who have watched growth swell in recent years.
"If it takes longer, I'm OK with that," she said. "I think it's more important that we do this right. If we do one option just to get it done quickly, then we are going to (create) the impression that we are doing it just get it done so we can get on with the half-cent sales tax."