Suspend commercial impact fees

Editorial

While we made our views known last week on the impact fee issue, we feel it is vitally important to our failing economy to restate it.

The facts bear out that 86 percent of the 67 counties in the state have either suspended impact fees or have none at all. The current direction given by the Hernando County Commission at its workshop recommended lowering the fees to 1999 levels, which in effect were done in 1997.

While that cuts single family home impact fees significantly, it does not do the same for commercial construction. While each type of commercial building has its own distinct fee schedule, suffice to say that the recommended reductions would not be big reductions as they could run from 8 percent to a high of 34 percent.

While a one-third reduction might look good on paper, in most cases that would not be a big enough incentive to induce the expenditure of thousands of dollars on a new commercial undertaking.

It will take bold action to make Hernando County a viable candidate for new businesses, and what we need most of all jobs, jobs, jobs! Suspension of commercial impact fees for one year is not such a gamble when you see how many other counties have either reduced of suspended their impact fees.

In our area of the state it would, we believe, provide an incentive to attract investment in the county. After one year they can be revisited and re-evaluated as to what action should be taken.