Baltimore Village councilors discussed options to protect the village from unrecovered costs when development projects stop before completion, focusing on developer tap fees and whether to require phased payments or performance bonds.

Eli Teague from the wastewater plant described a nearby community where developers started work and later the project failed, leaving the municipality unable to recover tap fees tied to initial work. Council members suggested policy options including charging tap fees by phase, establishing a minimum number of units before certain rules apply (10 units was suggested), or requiring a bond or insurance to secure municipal investments.

"Some sort of an insurance policy that we're gonna recoup our investment," one council member said, describing a preference to lock in the villageportion of infrastructure costs rather than relying on future tap fees. Members also discussed the difficulty of retroactively changing fee expectations for developers with existing commitments.

Staff agreed to research other municipal practices and bring options to a future rules committee meeting.

Next steps: staff will contact peer municipalities, document how they structure tap fees and performance bonds, and present recommendations to the rules committee for possible codification.