Fayette's

impact fee study committee will go over its

proposals one more time tomorrow in hopes of

presenting its recommendations to the County

Commission Dec. 1.

Tentatively,

committee members are discussing a one-time

charge of around $1,200 to $1,500 per house, and

using that money to fund public safety and parks

and recreation projects, said Dr. Bob Todd,

chairman of the group.

Whether

the fees should be used to help fund the pending

$60 million jail and courthouse construction

projects, and what percentage of the money should

be used for the jail, will be among topics during

the meeting, said Todd.

"We

had asked for some clarification of the law

concerning the issue of the jail," said

Todd. "We will be talking about that when we

meet," he said.

If

the fees are added to home prices in the county,

Todd pointed out, the future residents not only

will have to pay the impact fee, but also a small

amount of additional property taxes, since the

extra charge will add to the value of each home

for taxation purposes.

"It

will probably cost them about $18 a year in

taxes," said Todd.

Commissioners

Greg Dunn and Linda Wells began pushing for

impact fees soon after they were elected last

November, and the commission as a whole agreed

earlier this year to appoint a blue ribbon

committee to study the proposal.

The

fees are charged to developers to mitigate the

cost of new county services and infrastructure

needed to serve new subdivisions and shopping

centers. Wells and Dunn have touted using impact

fees as a way to reduce the cost of new services

paid by existing residents, and recoup some of

that cost from future residents.

Developers

usually fold the fees into the prices for homes.

Since

May, the committee has been meeting almost

weekly, going over the county's services and

future facilities plans to determine which costs

can most feasibly be recouped through impact

fees.

The

Thursday, Nov. 18 meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. at

the County Administrative Complex.

If

a recommendation is ready in time, it will be on

the County Commission's meeting agenda for

Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m.

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