A consultant and city staff told the Winter Haven City Commission on Tuesday that a statutory "extraordinary circumstances" finding supports raising municipal impact fees charged to new development, and recommended the commission adopt the full increases at once.

Joe Williams of Raftelis Financial Consultants, who presented the study, said the update uses the most recent local data and the Florida impact-fee statute (Fla. Stat. 73.31801) to model planned capital investments against projected new development. "Basically, I've modeled out what investments the city is going to be making over the next 5 to 10 years," Williams said, noting new public safety complexes, major parks projects and other facilities were included in the calculations. "We're taking into consideration the current Florida statutes and legal requirements," he added.

The study recommended raising the combined municipal impact fee (police, fire, parks and libraries, with roads to follow) from roughly $2,400 to about $5,800 for typical single-family development. Parks and recreation fees showed the largest change: the single-family parks fee would rise from about $1,100 to roughly $4,300. Fire fees increase by about 44% for single-family homes (about $240 per home), and multifamily fees would be set lower than single-family rather than charging both the same rate. The consultant said police fees would drop slightly because existing police facilities currently provide adequate space.

City staff and the consultant recommended the commission adopt the increases in a single ordinance effective Oct. 1 and exceed the statute's usual 50% per-category increase limit for parks by documenting extraordinary circumstances. City Attorney and staff emphasized the commission must demonstrate the empirical evidence supporting that finding; Williams said the study supplies "competent evidence" by documenting rapid population growth, inflationary construction cost increases and planned capital projects that expansion would require.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about the single-family versus multifamily calculations and how fees relate to demand for parks versus utilities. Williams explained the study uses U.S. Census and local data to estimate people-per-unit and that, on average, multifamily units have fewer residents (about 75% of single-family occupancy) which lowers per-unit park-demand allocations. Mayor Pro Tem Yates and others pressed staff to plan earlier reviews: staff recommended reexamining fees in about three years rather than waiting a decade.

City staff noted timing and voting thresholds: because police fees would decrease, that part could take effect immediately after the commission adopts the ordinance; increases to parks, fire and libraries require a 90-day notice and would not take effect until around Oct. 1. Staff also told commissioners that to adopt the package as recommended will require a supermajority vote (four of five commissioners).

No final vote occurred at the workshop; the study and ordinance were scheduled for second reading and a decision at the commission meeting Monday night.