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Jonesboro council approves $59,000 study of impact fees after hours of debate
Summary
The Jonesboro City Council voted to contract DTA to perform a citywide impact-fee study at a cost of about $59,000. Council members and residents debated whether fees would raise housing costs, slow development and how state law would limit use of any fees.
The Jonesboro City Council voted to hire consulting firm DTA to conduct a citywide impact-fee study, approving the expenditure after sustained discussion and public comment.
Supporters said the study is a way to measure the costs that new development places on police, fire, drainage and parks, while opponents warned it could raise housing costs and slow local development. The contract price referenced in the meeting was $59,000.
The measure’s supporters argued impact fees help the city avoid paying long-term cleanup and service costs for poorly planned or undercapitalized development. A council member citing local examples said some apartment complexes built in past years became problem properties that required significant police and code-enforcement attention, and that impact fees are used by other Arkansas cities as a way to offset the cost of new development’s burden on city services.
Council member Miss Porter urged a no vote, saying five concerns guided her position: (1) impact fees incentivize developers to build outside Jonesboro; (2) slowing development could reduce sales-tax receipts, which Porter said make up "roughly 70% of our city's revenue"; (3) the fees would exert upward pressure on housing costs; (4) many citizens would view the fees as a new tax "imposed without a vote of the people"; and (5) while $59,000 is a small portion of the budget it is not trivial.
In public comment, Rick Wyatt, who identified himself as a member of the impact-fee committee, told the council the project proposal states it will comply with "Arkansas code 14 56 1 0 3, the Arkansas impact fee law." Wyatt said that statute limits what impact-fee revenues may be used for, requires fees be "reasonably attributable" to the new development that generated the need, and contains a provision requiring refund of unused portions of collected fees after seven years plus interest.
The council and staff clarified that the vote approved only a study and not adoption of any fee. A council member said the study’s scope would identify where an impact fee might apply geographically and which infrastructure categories would be eligible (police and fire, drainage, parks and similar public facilities), and that some areas — such as targeted revitalization zones — would likely be excluded from fees.
The council then voted to adopt the resolution to contract with DTA for the study. The meeting transcript records a motion and second and later notes, "The issue passes." The meeting did not record a roll-call tally in the discussion portion of the transcript provided.
Why it matters: An impact-fee study can lead to policy that changes developers’ costs and the city’s revenue mix; it also triggers statutory accounting rules and refund obligations if fees are collected but later unused. The council voted to proceed with study work months in advance of any decision to adopt fees.
What’s next: Staff said the study will take several months. Any ordinance or fee structure that results from the report would require separate action by the council.
