Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Impact Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Berlin officials move to fund an impact-fee study; councilors suggest interim permit-fee changes
Summary
The mayor and council discussed a stalled RFP for an impact-fee study, confirmed the town's codified $2,000 impact fee lacks documented calculation, and explored interim options such as raising building-permit fees to capture funds for the Berlin Fire Company while a consultant study is arranged.
The mayor and council met with the Berlin Fire Company on matters of development fees and public-safety cost recovery. Staff told the group the town issued an RFP for an impact-fee study but received no responses; they are arranging alternate funding so a consultant can begin work before the end of the calendar year.
Speaker 1 said, "We did issue an RFP for impact fees. We did not get anybody to respond," and warned that any increase in impact fees will need documented methodology to survive questions. Council members and fire-company representatives urged an interim fix to avoid "missed opportunities" on pending development projects, with one attendee arguing that another municipality directed permit fees to its fire company instead of waiting for a completed study.
Participants confirmed the town's current codified impact fee is $2,000 but said they cannot locate the original calculations that produced that number. Staff described the practical difficulty of applying certain apparatus costs (for example, ladder trucks) uniformly across residential projects and said a cost-based study would break fees into percentages for specific capital uses rather than a single undifferentiated charge.
No formal action was taken. Staff said the study funding path will be pursued and that the consultant will coordinate with fire and EMS leadership to develop a cost-based methodology; councilors also asked staff to evaluate short-term permit-fee changes that could direct incremental revenue to the fire company until the study is complete.
