AG 2006 06 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commerce Department Memo To: Board of Commissioners From: Jonathan B. Marshall, Commerce Director cc: John Day, County Manager Date: May 31, 2006 Re: Northwest Water and Sewer Fee The Board of Commissioners originally adopted the Northwest Water and Sewer fee in June 2001. That fee has been collected for building permits issued within a defined part of the County since that time. The current revenue balance for the NW fund is just over $600,000. The fee and its use were questioned in the litigation between the City of Concord, Cabarrus County, and the Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County. The following statement was included in the settlement agreement between those parties that was approved earlier this year: 7. The Water and Sewer Impact Fees that the County has collected and continues to collect in the westem portion of the County shall be spent for public utility purposes in the geographic area of the properties for which such fees were collected, and such expenditure shall be made within three years of the date on which such fees were collected. If the County fails to adopt and implement a policy for the expenditure of these impact fees, then the County shall discontinue the collection of such impact fees. To address this provision, I am proposing that the Board consider the following actions: . Eliminate the fee effective July 1, 2006. The original purpose of the fee, to reimburse costs for off-site water and sewer improvements, has been achieved. . Use a portion of the collected fees to reimburse County expenses for off-site water line improvements that were completed as part of the Cox Mill Elementary construction project (approximately $200,000). This approval should include the necessary budget amendment to transfer the funds from the NW revenue account to the appropriate general fund account. . Develop priorities for the expenditure of the remaining funds to comply with the settlement agreement. The funds must be expended within the area in which they were collected. Community Development staff has already examined two projects within the Northwest Fee area that would benefit low-moderate income residents and could be considered part of our on-going community development local match funds. Staff will develop the priority policy for presentation to the Board in August. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this information. 1 Q--B