Quote:
Originally Posted by jrandall
As a resident of Sumter County, I oppose the proposal by Oren Miller and Gary Search to raise road impact fees. Sumter County is a model for the State of Florida for Economic Growth and has been attracting business to it for the past several years. The proposed increase is outrageous! The increase will further decimate businesses impacted by the Pandemic and will make investing in Sumter County by potential incoming business less palatable and will likely steer many away. Also I am even more concerned that we may lose the potential for UF to build a hospital and medical facilities in the south which is definitely needed with our growth in population. The raising of the impact fees will damage our Community for years to come.
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Impact fees are taxes. They are taxes imposed on the beneficiaries of new development that create the need for new facilities, roads, schools, utilities, police, fire, etc. They are intended to cover the additional expense of providing these new services while the property taxes levied on the new property will cover the ongoing maintenance of those new services.
The simple question is and always has been - who should pay the cost of necessary new traffic signals, roads, schools, etc., the current property owners or those who benefit from selling or developing the property generating the need for new services.
Taxes will always be an issue but who pays these impact fees is relatively easy - those who benefit from the new homes or business sales that create the IMPACT on our local communities. Is that too much to ask of these developers.
Those costs are often estimated by the developer which can sometimes be unfair. So, yes Impact fees are necessary and should be estimated to the best that they can be. They should be fair. They should be paid by the developer of the new homes or businesses. Keep in mind it is the consumer and taxpayer that pay all bills. Companies pass on their cost to the consumer and government just taxes us to pay their bills.
So, in the end we all pay. Should we also pay for the profits of development and developers? I don't think so. My two cents.