Okaloosa County BOCC — 2013 meeting #1123 (date undetermined) — Budget Policy Document FY14 — reading text

$0 $0 $0 $0 Crestview Destin FWB Niceville Escambia Okaloosa Santa Rosa 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Special Assessments. A special assessment may provide funding for capital expenditures or the operational costs of services provided that the property, which is subject to the assessment, derives a special benefit from the improvement or service. The courts have upheld a number of assessed services and improvements, such as: garbage disposal, sewer improvements, fire protection, fire and rescue services, street improvements, parking facilities, downtown redevelopment, water and sewer line extensions and stormwater management services. Florida Statutes Chapter 125.01(1)(q) outlines the many facilities and services that can be funded from the proceeds of special assessments imposed by county governments, via the municipal service taxing unit (MSTU) or municipal service benefit unit (MSBU). The Board of County Commissioners has assessed, by ordinance, certain special assessments related mainly to street lighting requests made by certain areas of the County. The MSBU program has been expanded to cover channel maintenance, landscape and subdivision maintenance, as well as road improvements. The Board of County Commissioners approved a revised MSBU Policy and Procedure for road maintenance in October 2007. This policy’s mission was to empower the Board of County Commissioners and property owners the use of statutory authority to acquire alternative funding for infrastructure, improvements, construction and maintenance. The Board has also considered imposition of a Stormwater Utility Assessment that could assist with funding of the County Stormwater Infrastructure needs. Page 14 In Fiscal Year 2008, the Board of County Commissioners, based upon the recommendation of the Tourist Development Council and the beach renourishment consultants, approved a Municipal Services Assessment on impacted parcels of property on Okaloosa Island and in the City of Destin to fund critically eroded beachfront issues due to the storm impacts of 2004 and 2005. This assessment, coupled with the additional 1 cent of tourist development tax funding was intended to provide some necessary resources to fund beach renourishment within the taxing district. In January 2012, the Board of County Commissioners voted to delay and refund Okaloosa Island renourishment projects and assessments. Impact Fees. The Board of County Commissioners has the authority to institute an impact fee ordinance. Impact fees are charges imposed by local governments against new development. Such charges represent a total or partial reimbursement for the cost of additional facilities or services necessary as the result of the new development. Impact fees have successfully been used to fund road improvements, water and sewer facilities, the construction of school facilities and park expansion. Impact fees are local sources of revenue for infrastructure in Florida. Determination of an impact fee begins with calculating demand-to-capacity ratios for different capital facilities and then estimating the number and cost of facilities that will be necessary for meeting a prescribed level of service for a growing population. An impact fee ordinance can distinguish among impacts of different types of growth in establishing fee amounts. For example, single-family homes can be shown to have different impacts than office buildings or retail stores. Impact fees cannot be charged to pay the cost of reducing or eliminating deficiencies in existing facilities. According to the most recent State data, in 2011, impact fee revenues were collected in 41 of the 67 counties, ranging from $9,000 to $46,637,023. Of the over $185,665,000 in impact fees collected for Fiscal Year 2011, 9.8% was for Public Safety; 19.3% was for Physical Environment; 42.8% was for Transportation; 14.1% was for Human Services; 12.3% was for Culture/Recreation; and 1.7% for other functions. Fiscal Year 2011 is the latest State data available for use. Policy Recommendation. The Board of County Commissioners continues to explore other revenue alternatives Impact Fee History $11,560,576 $14,000,000 $12,000,000 $7,821,851 $10,000,000 $6,363,940 $6,304,000 $6,124,000 $5,567,689 $4,995,896 $8,000,000 $4,073,670 $3,457,336 $3,049,685 $6,000,000 $2,441,398 $2,361,441 $2,131,348 $1,699,263 $1,461,832 $1,347,627 $1,291,055 $4,000,000 $972,819 $821,210 $782,950 $546,438 $477,577 $460,927 $343,658 $317,326 $219,474 $169,866 $71,745 $71,389