AG 1997 05 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COVER STORY The price of progress: -Infrastructure payment plans you can live with - Relentless development and population growth continue to fuel the need for infrastructure improvements or additions. Since the old ways of raising - revenue often do not cut it with taxpayers, local officials have adopted financing methods that target the principaI beneficiaries of improvements. By Angelique Lucero In cities and counties across the United States, building and improving public infrastructure -- whether it is rebuilding a bridge, repairing a run-down street, updating a sewer system or resurrecting a recreation facility -- is necessary to maintain a good quality of life. But when it comes to financing these new projects and improvements, the argument often arises about who will pay for them and how much they will pay. A community may need to refurbish its local senior facility, for instance, but residents may not want to reach into their own pockets to fund the improve- ment. Further, the reasons for the improve- ment may not be clear to them. In using any of the funding mechanisms discussed below, garnering public support is imperative. The parties responsible for paying the bills need to have input into what is funded and how much should be funded. DEVELOPER IMPACT FEES Developer impact fees, if allowed through a state's enabling legislation, have become one important tool for funding public facili- ties and improvements necessary to support new growth. City management has come to accept the concept that developers who pros- per from this growth should be responsible for the cost of providing facilities necessary to accommodate it. Today, many developers are required to pay impact fees and a portion of assessments ~2 May 1997 AMERICAN CITY ~. COUNTY