[email protected]

The Fulton County Commission

is considering a proposal to implement impact fees to help pay for new

parks in the county.

Impact fees are charged to

developers to help pay the costs of new government facilities and services

associated with growth.

The commissioners heard an

overview of the proposal at last week's meeting and Angela Parker said

the proposal is only in its beginning stages.

Parker, who heads up the

county's Department of Community Affairs said the commission had passed

a resolution back in 1998 to study an impact fee for parks.

The county already charges

an impact fee for plant expansion, but Parker said this proposed fee

would not only cover parks, but also police, fire, a jail and a library.

No figures have been established

yet and Parker said it would be at least 2002 before any fees are enacted.

The county's consulting firm, WFR and Associates, will issue a report

on the proposal in 2002 after studying all sides of the issue.

"We'll be getting a

lot of public input on this," Parker said.

The report will have to identify

the county's high growth areas, identify the specific projects the fee

would cover and provide a fee schedule for businesses and residences,

she said.

Impact fees were recently

passed in Fayette County to pay for a new jail and improve county fire

services, but the debate was heated among the various municipalities.

Parker hopes the amount of

public comment on the procedure will lead to a consenus on whether to

start the program.