AGENDA REPORT
DATE: March 25, 2024
TO: City Commission
FROM: Bill McDaniel, City Manager
SUBJECT: Public Hearing to Amend Article II of Chapter 86, Plant City Code
Fire Rescue Impact Fees
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
An impact fee rate study was conducted in 2006 and established a rate schedule for fire rescue impact fees. These charges have remained the same for 18 years.
On September 26, 2022, the City Commission approved an agreement with Alfred Benesch & Company (Benesch) to perform a citywide impact fee update study.
Benesch provided an extensive review of the current impact fees as required by Section 163.31801, Florida Statutes (FS) and found that the City's fire rescue impact fees are well below the current cost to provide for growth.
The consultant utilized the following criteria to determine the recommended fire rescue impact fees for Plant City:
* Consumption-based methodology that is widely used in Florida and ensures that fees are calculated at a level not to charge for any deficiencies
* Documentation of capital inventory and level of service
* Estimation of the value of the capital inventory
* Recognizing a credit for non-impact fee contributions from future development
* Calculation of the demand component to measure impact from each land use
Implementation of the recommended impact fee schedule must comply with the following Phase-In Limitation rules required by the State unless a study identifies extraordinary circumstances:
* Up to 25% increase - over two years
* Between 25-50% - over four installments
* Cannot be increased more than 50% of the current rate
After review with the consultant, extraordinary circumstances impacting Plant City's fire service include:
* Significant construction cost inflation
* Continuing population growth - over 15% or 6,000 residents in the past ten years
* Outdated rate studies
* Additional capital facilities needed to continue to provide high-quality service
Staff requests that the City Commission adopt ...
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