Commissioners approve updated impact-fee calculation and five‑year phase‑in for FY2022

The St. Mary's County Commissioners approved an updated impact‑fee calculation and a five‑year phase‑in schedule for fiscal year 2022 after a staff presentation explaining the methodology and the reasons the fee declined from earlier estimates.

Chief Financial Officer Janet Cudmore and staff described the calculation: the county uses an asset-per-person approach for schools, roads and parks, divides asset costs by estimated population, and applies persons-per-household to produce a per‑dwelling fee. The updated calculation shows an average per‑dwelling impact fee of about $3,603 under the phase‑in (the transcript shows a range of fees by dwelling size; staff estimated roughly $994,000 annual collections at current permit levels).

Cudmore said the recent decline in the fee level is driven principally by the absence of new Board of Education school projects in the CIP (renovations do not generate the same fee need) and by an increased debt-backout percentage (the staff used a five‑year average debt factor of 65% when calculating the portion of project costs not charged to impact fees). The county continues to collect impact fees for schools, roads and parks and is monitoring pending legislation in Annapolis that would introduce an excise tax and require a new calculation.

Commissioners discussed practical points: multi‑family developments pay the fee per dwelling unit; the board deferred changing the formula pending any excise tax adoption and instead approved the updated FY2022 phase‑in calculation as presented.

A motion to approve the five‑year phase‑in plan for the county impact fee and to adopt the updated calculation for FY2022 passed by voice vote.