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Horace council adopts developer-funded infrastructure policy with flat 2% administrative fee
Summary
On March 16, 2026 the Horace City Council approved a policy requiring developers who build and transfer infrastructure to reimburse city engineering, legal and inspection costs and adopted a flat 2% administrative fee to cover staff time; the measure passed despite one councilor’s recorded nay.
The Horace City Council on March 16 approved a policy setting terms for privately funded municipal infrastructure, requiring developers who build infrastructure to reimburse the city for engineering, legal and inspection costs and charging a flat 2% administrative fee to cover staff time.
City staffer Brenton presented the draft as a framework to ensure private projects meet city standards while preventing the city from “eating costs” when developers transfer infrastructure. Brenton said the policy would require direct reimbursement for engineering and legal bills and proposed an administrative fee to cover city staff time: "Our intent ... was to ... make sure that I can look at shade 9 and say, yep. We're doing the best we can to cover our costs for the city," he said.
The draft originally proposed a graduated administrative fee — 2% for projects at or under $3 million and 1.25% for projects above $3 million — and staff outlined how engineering estimates prepared by licensed engineers would be used as the basis for billing. During discussion councilors noted prior projects had consumed substantial staff hours: staff estimated one recent development required roughly 300–400 hours of review by a single engineer, not counting other reviewers.
Council debate focused on whether the lower percentage for larger projects would leave the city exposed. One council member said that while the city does not want to “be subsidized in the development,” shrinking percentages as project dollar values increase can leave the city “not covering our cost.” Others said the proposed levels were a reasonable starting point and could be adjusted after the policy is tested.
Councilor (name on the record) moved to adopt the policy with a flat 2% administrative fee for all project values; the motion was seconded and carried. Councilor Rachel Dwyer registered a recorded nay during that vote.
Why it matters: the policy changes how Horace will accept and manage developer-built infrastructure, shifting immediate review and acceptance costs onto developers rather than the city budget. Staff said the fee is intended to recover review and administrative costs during construction and acceptance, not to be an ongoing revenue source.
Next steps: staff will implement the policy details in developer agreements and monitor the first projects under the new rules; council indicated a willingness to revisit fee levels after the first one or two projects under the policy.
