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Commissioners press staff for phase-in options, clearer math and wider outreach on proposed impact-fee hike
Summary
County commissioners urged staff to present phased implementation scenarios, an easy-to-follow executive summary linking plant capacity to households, and broader community engagement after staff proposed a large jump in South Central impact fees.
Commissioners at a Hillsborough County workshop praised the need to expand water and wastewater capacity but urged staff to show clearer math, phased options and more outreach before adopting a large impact-fee increase.
Several commissioners said they agree that growth should pay for expansions but asked staff and the consultant to produce a plain-language executive summary that translates plant capacity and modeling assumptions into the number of households served and the per-home impact. One commissioner said an immediate fee increase could add about $13,000 to the price of a new home (as stated in the workshop), and urged consideration of a multi-year phase-in similar to the Northwest plan.
Commissioner Miller (Speaker 6) pressed for transparency: he said commissioners and the public need a simple calculation showing how the county arrived at the per-house fee and how many new household connections the county is planning for. "It should be very a plus b plus d," he said, asking staff to return with numbers and a worked example the public can follow.
Staff responded that the county’s planning staff works with planning commission forecasts and that the modeling accounts for single-family, multifamily and commercial connections; they committed to bringing connection-count assumptions, phased-implementation scenarios (2-, 3- and 4-year options) and an analysis of how those scenarios would affect borrowing and bondability.
Commissioners also raised outreach concerns. One asked whether staff had conducted afternoon or community-facing meetings; staff said the development community — including TBBA — had been given data and would likely speak at the Dec. 17 public hearing but that staff would consider broader outreach. Multiple commissioners said they wanted more time for community review of the Stantec report and the chance for third-party review if stakeholders disagree with the modeling.
There was no formal vote at the workshop. Madam Chair closed the meeting after staff agreed to return with clearer materials and phased scenarios ahead of the Dec. 17 adoption hearing.
