November 17, 2009. The Palm Beach Post.
Palm Beach County commissioners this afternoon agreed to use the interest the county earns on impact fees it collects from developers to pay for improvements in affordable housing projects.
The commission voted 5-2 in favor of the new plan that would allow the county to use part of the interest it earns on impact fees to pay for roads, parks and public buildings that are needed inside affordable housing projects. Commissioner Jeff Koons and Jess Santamaria voted against the measure.
Under the plan, the county would set aide $1.03 million in the next budget year for affordable housing projects. The county would set aside 50 percent of the interest it earns on impact fees beginning in 2014 for these projects.
Commissioners vowed to find money to help pay for projects proposed between 2011 and 2014. The county is expected to face budget shortfalls for the next several years.
More than 100 members of the non-profit group, P.E.A.C.E. – – People Engaged in Active Community Efforts — attended the meeting to push commissioners to dedicate money for the effort indefinitely. They urged commissioners not to leave a four-year gap in funding for the effort.
In Palm Beach County, developers pay about $10,000 in impact fees to the county to build a moderately sized single-family home. The fees are used to pay for improvements – like roads, parks and services – needed to support the new development.
