Winter Haven adopts updated municipal impact fees, parks and library fees rise, police fee falls
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Summary
The commission adopted Ordinance O-25-25 updating municipal services impact fees after a Raftelis study; increases for fire, parks and recreation and library fees take effect Oct. 1, 2025, while the police impact fee will decrease.
The Winter Haven City Commission on Monday adopted Ordinance O-25-25, updating municipal services impact fees based on a rate study by financial consultants Raftelis.
City Manager (name not specified) and Raftelis consultant Joe Williams told the commission the study evaluated capital needs for police, fire, parks and recreation, and library services and recommended fee adjustments to reflect current levels of service and recent growth. Williams said the changes are meant to “provide for reasonable recovery without exceeding the current cost of expansion related capital improvements,” as allowed under the Florida Impact Fee Act.
Under the adopted ordinance, impact fees assessed one time on new construction will increase for fire services, parks and recreation and libraries; police impact fees will decrease. Staff and the consultant emphasized that impact fees apply only to new construction and not to existing homeowners or businesses. The parks and recreation and library fees apply to residential development; police and fire fees apply to residential and nonresidential development.
Williams described revenue implications using a 10-year forecast. He said, under the city's prior parks fee, projected receipts over 10 years were about $11 million; under the new fee schedule that figure would be closer to $40 million — a difference he described as “about $30,000,000 over 10 years just for the parks.” The city manager said staff held two required public workshops and that the new fees would take effect Oct. 1, 2025, after a statutory 90-day window.
Commissioners asked staff for historical estimates and the manager said staff could provide a five-year or ten-year retrospective estimate of fees that would have been collected under the new schedule. The city attorney noted the study was included in the meeting record and that staff had discussed growth and inflationary pressures as the basis for the increases.
The commission approved the ordinance on second reading and final adoption; city staff said the study and fee schedules are on record and the legal framework for the changes is the Florida Impact Fee Act. The city also intends to repeat the fee study within three years as allowed by statute.
