OCALA, Fla. – Marion County leaders on Tuesday approved an impact fee to help pay for new schools.
The proposal approved by the county commission would require developers to pay an impact fee on every new residential home built. A single-family detached home on a lot, for instance, would cost $4,307 per unit, while a multi-family apartment up to 700 square feet would cost $1,604.
[READ: Impact fee proposal]
The county has not charged an impact fee since the fees were suspended 13 years ago.
Commissioners say the impact fee is needed because the county’s population is growing and the county’s schools are aging. A large number of district facilities are over 50 years old and in need of major repairs.
“If you’ve gotta add a wing onto a school that should be paid for by the people who come to our community,” said District 4 Commissioner Carl Zalak III. “Every house, every room.”
District 3 Commissioner Matt McClain also supported the measure, though he wasn’t happy about it.
“The developer never pays the impact fee. The impact fee is a tax on the person that purchases that home,” he said.
The impact fee revenue will not handle school repairs, only new school buildings and additions to existing buildings.
School maintenance would be handled by a half-cent sales tax going before the voters in November. The school district says this help is needed, as state funding for repairs has fallen. A News 6 investigation found the district needs $840 million to handle unfunded school maintenance projects.
If voters approve the sales tax increase, it would be in place for 10 years.
Meanwhile, the impact fees will go into effect in July.
[NEWS 6 INVESTIGATES: Marion County Schools in crisis]
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